Rebuilding Stuart Pot
by Blamnie
Summary: Sequel to 'The Substitute' After 2D's mental breakdown, his band mates must reunite to help save their singer. 2DxNoodle
1. The Truth

_A/N: Hi everyone! So as promised, here is the sequel to 'The Substitute' I really enjoyed writing that story and thanks to all the reviews, I really appreciate it._

_My word, this story is a lot harder to write though…It's taken me over a week just to get it started._

_This is going to be a 2DxNoodle story 'cause I just love em so very much. However this first chapter is basically setting everything up so it's very heavy on the Russel because I see him as the most unbiased viewpoint, and hey! The big guy needs more love!_

_Hope this first chapter doesn't bore you too much; there will be more action in later chapters I promise and much more 2DxNoodle *insert fangirisms here*._

_Btw, I changed some specifics regarding the whole el manana vid to fit my story a bit better; this is fan fiction after all. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, the Gorillaz belong to the very brilliant Damon and Jamie._

_mmmmm…I could eat a Damon sandwich right about now…_

_On with the story XD_

Rebuilding Stuart Pot

"_Real friendships are bound by the truth"_

1. The Truth

"Russell, it's 'bout 2D… I need yeh help, we 'ave to get Noodle back"

Russel shuddered at the shrill urgency which laced Murdoc's words. He knew that this day would come. The day in which he would be forced to reveal the truth. He just didn't expect today to be that the one.

This morning had started the same way as every other of the drummer's new life had, mundane. He would wake up to his mundane girlfriend, in his mundane house, travel to his mundane job at a mundane office. 4 years ago, he had made an agreement with himself to live a normal life; he just didn't expect it to be so…unsatisfying.

When he first left the band, Russel's ego was dangerously over inflated. He convinced himself that he didn't need the others; he could make it on his own. The Gorillaz name gathered quiet an audience at the time and Russel figured that it would set him up perfectly for a solo career. However, without them, it fell apart. He was nothing without them; albeit a world class drummer, a drummer is nothing without a band, neither is a guitarist or a bassist or even a singer.

So Russel convinced himself that he could continue with a normal life; after all he was planning to take some time out, refresh his outlook on the world. Soon all of the pieces slotted into place and Russel Hobbs: Superstar had faded out of existence to make way for Russel Hobbs: accountant. A miserable man trapped by a navy suit and tie.

When Murdoc's phone call finally came on that dull Monday morning, the large drummer was relieved above all things. He never really felt like himself in his new life. In fact, he felt like he was just living in this mundane existence to pass time until the band got back together. This life was merely procrastination, a distraction from his main purpose. Russel could feel himself slipping back into his old mindset as the days passed by. He would often be surprised to find himself nonchalantly tapping a beat on his desk, or humming one of the bands old songs in the copy room.

However another emotion took control when Murdoc's voice was heard on the other end of the line, anger. That green skinned bastard had failed to mention to the drummer that he had made a new album, without him. He didn't so much as get a word from Murdoc and was horrified when he saw an ad on TV promoting something called "Plastic Beach". Russel had put his heart and soul into this band, they were his family, well at least he still thought of 2D and Noodle that way.

_Noodle_…he hadn't thought about her in a while.

"You gotta lot of nerve callin' me Muds! I'm replaceable am I? Well I aint got anythin' to say to your green ass!" Russel fumed down the phone line; he was finding it hard to control himself and suddenly became aware of the attention drawn to his office cubical.

"Oi lards! Tha' fat cloggin up yer ears is it? I said this aint about me; it's about old Two Dents, e' needs 'elp!"

"Right" Russel had managed to calm himself down a bit since his outburst. "What's up with 'D?"

"I dun't kno 'ow ta explain, e's lost tha plot, e's about half an hour away from burstin' through ma door wiv an axe!" Murdoc scratched his head as he tried to think of a way to explain the cyborg to Russ. Whatever way he put it, Russel was going to be furious.

"Why, what happened? What did you do?" Russel began to get worked up again; he knew that sooner or later 2D's already fragile state was almost certainly going to crack under the constant abuse from Murdoc. He felt a large wave of guilt wash over him as he knew he could have prevented it more than he did. 2D was such a kind person; he didn't deserve the treatment he got from his band mates. On occasion, Noodle would stand up for him and on an even rarer occasion Russel would too, like the Paula incident. But too many times they let it slide and would turn the other way. Russel was a bad friend.

"Erm , well, e sorta didn't want ta be on tha new album. But I really needed a singer, so I erm…sorta had 'im shipped over, ya kno' against 'is will." Murdoc chuckled slightly as a way to relieve the tension building up between himself and Russel.

"WHAT!" Heads turned towards the large white eyed drummer sat in a small office chair grinding his teeth as he slammed his fists onto an undeserving wooden desk. Russel mouthed a quick apology to his co workers then returned his focus to the phone in his hand. "Muds, that's just cold man! That's low, even for you! Ya ass don't even deserve 'D as a friend."

"That's not even the worst part" Murdoc sniggered once again in an attempt to soften Russel's anger. He took a large gulp from a bottle of rum resting on his study desk and went to speak again. "I knew tha''e wos gonna try an' leave, so yeh kno 'ow faceache hate's whales?"

Russel rolled his eyes, his grip on the phone got tighter. "Oh man, ya didn't."

"Yeh, I did. I bribed a whale to watch 'im, tha' way, 'e wouldn't want ta leave."

"Yo sick Muds."

"That's not everything. I couldn't make an album wiv just me and the dullard could I? I needed a guitarist…" Russel's eyes widened, intrigued. He had wondered how Murdoc had made a new album with the absence of Noodle as well as himself. Murdoc may have been the brains behind the band, but no amount of brains would give him the ability to create an album with only vocals and a bass.

"What did you do?" Russel became impatient with Murdoc's constant stalling. Murdoc rarely showed any form of uncertainty or…was that _guilt_ that Russel detected in the bassists voice? The drummer took another moment to calm himself again. "Listen, Muds, no matter how bad this is, just tell me. You want me to help 'D right? Ya gotta tell me what's goin on. I need to know the truth, and I mean everything, if we got any chance of helpin' him out."

"I…erm…well it's sorta funny really…I _made_ a guitarist." Murdoc paused as he attempted to figure out how to word it. "Yer know how ya always said that our Noodle-girl wos irreplaceable? Well I couldn't find 'er so I did tha next best thing. I made a copy of 'er. I-I made a cyborg outta Noodle's DNA so that it look's like 'er and play's like 'er. As you can imagine, that was the final nail in the coffin fer facache, next thing I knew, 'e was already gone, 'e's completely lost it. I dun't know what ta do. I'm… I'm sorry Russel." Murdoc took a deep breathe, preparing for Russel's verbal assault that would certainly come his way. He knew Russel tended to be much more sensitive when the subject shifted to Noodle; she was his pride and joy after all. "Russ, say somethin' yer killin me here!" Murdoc noticed that no reply came from his former drummer, only silence.

"Okay." Russel let his eyes shift to the floor. No matter how angry he was at Murdoc's sadistic ways Russel stayed cool. He knew that getting angry again would just further strain whatever little relationship he had left with the bassist. It was finally time. Finally time for Murdoc to hear the truth.

"Okay! Is tha all yer got lards? Why aint ya threatenin' ta kill me, why aint ya tearin yer office apart? Yer understand wot I did right? I made a copy of Noodle. A fuckin' robot fer Satan's sake! And I treat 'er badly lards. Where tha 'ell is that fire gone Russ. Wot's 'appened to ya?" Mudoc frantically pranced around his study with the phone still pressed to his ear. Four years ago, Russel would have been right over there in a second wrapping the phone cable round the bassist's neck as a make-shift noose. Russel had seemed to have lost his spark, this was enough to almost frighten Murdoc. He couldn't be responsible for bringing both Russel and 2D back from the edge. He was a man of little compassion; he severely lacked the emotional availability.

"Muds, I guess I can forgive you for that… if you can forgive me."

"Wot the bloody 'ell are yer talkin' about?"

"I lied Muds. I lied about Noodle."

* * *

#####Flashback#####

The morning was laced with a fresh mist surrounding Kong, it was still very early. A 15 year old Noodle strolled into the kitchen to find Russel already preparing breakfast for his band mates, despite the fact that it would be a matter of hours before the two remaining members would be conscious.

Noodle cleared her throat to alert the large man of her presence. Russel turned to face her sending her a beaming grin in the process, but that expression soon dimmed when he noticed a grim look make its way across the young Japanese girls' features.

"What's up baby-girl, thought you'd be excited for today." Russel motioned for her to take a seat at the kitchen table and did so himself.

"Have you ever felt…conflicted Russel-sama?" Noodle fidgeted in her seat and avoided eye contact with the drummer.

"How do you mean?" Russel moved to place a hand on her shoulder, clearly something was bothering her.

"Like, hypothetically speaking, if you had to do something that would hurt those dearest to you for the greater good, would you do it?" She blinked back a few tears and lifted her head up to face Russel. He could barely see her eyes due to the thick purple hair concealing them.

"Noodle, you're scaring me, what's going on?"

She didn't answer. Instead she faced the floor and took a deep breath appearing to shake off her uncertainty. When she lifted her head up to meet his concerned glare once again, she had changed. Instead she just smiled at him.

"It is nothing to worry about Russel-sama. Breakfast smells wonderful, what are we having?" She motioned her hand over to the stove reminding Russel that he had left it unsupervised. He suddenly jumped out of his chair and sped over to the almost burned food. He stirred the mixture with a sigh of relief at the fact that it had not been spoiled. He opened his mouth to speak to Noodle again. Half way between forming words, he turned to realise that she had very swiftly departed from the kitchen, more than likely taking refuge in her room. Whatever it was that was bothering Noodle could wait. Today was an eventful day for the residence of Kong.

Today was the El Manana video shoot.

* * *

Russel Hobbs feared few things.

That day had been the most scared he had ever been in his life. Moments ago he had witnessed his Noodle-girl's floating island plummet and become engulfed in flames before his very eyes. He had stood hopelessly on the ground watching the carnage from a safe distance along with his remaining band mates. The reactions of his friends were still fresh in his mind. 2D was the first to respond, he began freaking out frantically screeching orders to the nearby crew "'elp 'er! For god's sake do sumfink! 'elp 'er!" Before falling to his knees and bursting into tears. Murdoc stood and stared with his mouth wide open, the lit cigarette which had previously occupied it fell to the floor. His uneven eyes began to glaze over. Russel had never seen Murdoc speechless before. And Russel, he just let out an agonizing cry as if his heart had just been ripped from his chest.

Russel frantically fumbled with his keys whilst trying to unlock the front door to Kong. He burst through and immediately began stampeding the corridors looking for any sign of life. Maybe Noodle had survived her ordeal and come home. Maybe she wasn't really on the island at all. He barged his way into Noodle's room and stopped dead in his tracks.

There she stood. Alive and well.

She had a large suitcase in her grip, trailing it behind her. Her clothes were slightly torn and small smudges of dirt and rubble had attached themselves to her once clean black and white stripes. He noticed two minor bleeding grazes on her knees, the blood trickling down over her black boots. He moved his eyes up to see her face. She looked like a dear caught in the headlights, shocked and horrified.

"Baby-girl, yo scared me half ta death! Don't chu ever pull a stunt like that again!"

"Russel-sama. I am so sorry!" She couldn't hold back the tears that were making tracks down her flustered cheeks. He made a move to comfort her in a hug but she denied him by holding her hand up to signal for him to keep his distance.

"Noodle what are y-"

"I'm leaving Russel-sama" She stated blankly. "I've thought about it for some time. It is the right thing to do."

"No yo aint! Yo fifteen!" Russel glared her down in a farther figure like way. In his eyes, she was a minor, this meant that he was the one in charge of her; he was the one to look after her.

"You do not understand, I need this"

"No baby-girl, ya been through a lot today, hell it's a miracle you're still alive! What yo need is you're family" Russel put on his '_I know best'_ voice and made a move towards Noodle once again, he had to make the girl see sense. Her response was unexpected; she violently pushed him away, which wasn't easy to do. Her face suddenly changed from her usual gentle expression, to one of rage.

"You don't know anything! Do you understand how hard this is for me to grow up here! Take a look around, I'm the only girl in a testosterone flooded home Russel-sama! I just need to take a break, I need to find myself." Her face was flushed red from her outburst. She took a moment to compose herself. "Today…today was a set up for me leaving" Russel jerked his head back in her direction; he was horrified that she had decided to keep such a plan from him. She used to tell him everything, all of her secrets, all of her feelings. In fact, he was the only other person in the world who knew of her secret adolescent crush on their lead singer.

"I don't want to do this, but I have to Russel-sama." Noodle moved towards Russel after she had seen the hurt and betrayal in his twisted expression. She never wanted to hurt anyone.

"Why the secrets and lies baby-girl. If yo weren't happy, ya coulda' told me, I only want what's best fo you." He wrapped his arms around the young guitarist.

"I-I didn't want to lie. But you'd want to protect me from the world; you would never let me go away unsupervised. And Murdoc, he would never let me leave, not when there are still gigs to be played, awards to be won, money to be made. And 2D…."

"And 2D what?"

"And if Stuart asked me not to leave...I don't think I would be able to turn him down. He's my best friend." She stopped as tears overflowed her eyes, but managed to choke out "I love him so much."

Russel sighed. "Noodle-girl, you're too young to know what love is."

"Then let me find out." She pulled back away from him wiping her tears away from her eyes. A determined look crossed her face. She reached for her suitcase again, clutching the handle in her firm grip.

"I am leaving Russel-sama, and you cannot stop me." She forcefully dragged her belongings behind her as she went to leave the room. She was caught off guard by Russel grabbing one of her slender arms.

"If I do let you go baby-girl. What am I supposed to tell them?" He pleaded with her, His face twisted in an expression of desperation. He had to admit to himself that this was in fact the right thing to do. Noodle swallowed hard and offered Russel a false smile. She went on to simply state.

"Tell them that I am gone." He offered a small smile back at her as he let go of her arm and watched his Noodle-girl slowly fade away from him. She stopped in the doorway and turned to him once again.

"Thank you so much Russel-sama, I'll be in touch. Love you." She winked before leaving the room for the final time.

* * *

Not much time seemed to pass between Noodle's departure and the return of Murdoc and 2D. Russel was still stood where Noodle had left him, in her empty room staring blankly at the empty space where her wall used to be. His white eyes overflowing with tears as he slowly began to come to terms with what he had done and what he had to do. He had let his little Noodle-girl go off into the world, uncertain of when or even if he was ever going to see her again and he had to lie about her whereabouts to his friends.

Murdoc stormed into the deserted bedroom, almost running into the back of Russel in the process. 2D followed slowly behind. He looked a mess, the bruises under his black eyes had darkened drastically, his skin had turned an even paler state and his legs looked like they would give way at any given moment. 2D turned to look at Russel.

"Sh-she's gone aint she Russ?" He stuttered, afraid of the reply.

"um…yeah 'D, she's…gone." Russel's words were distorted from the choked sobs and the grief about to overtake him.

"No, no, please no!…R-Russ please, she can't 'ave gone…no R-Russ p-please not 'er! Not Noodle!" 2D collapsed on the floor next to the drummer's feet. Tear's stained his face and caused his body to shake involuntarily as he gripped his blue hair. Loosing control, he started shouting random obscenities which were only partly understandable due to his current state of shock and aguish.

Mudoc, who had been virtually unresponsive until this point, pulled out his packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He calmly took out one of the white sticks, placed it firmly in his mouth and began rummaging through his pockets looking for a lighter. When the small device was finally found, he held it up to the tip of the cigarette and clicked it down to ignite the flame. Only sparks appeared from the lighter. He pressed down on it again, same result. Murdoc attempted a third and final time before he stopped and took a deep breath. Out of nowhere he slammed the lighter against the wall causing it to shatter in his palm.

"FUCK!" Murdoc yelled out causing Russel to flinch. Murdoc then forcefully yanked the cigarette from his mouth and threw it as hard as he could across the room. His bloody hand from the lighter shards came into view but instead of going to clean the wound; he lunged for the collapsed form of 2D on the floor.

"NO!" Russel quickly intervened, blocking the older man in mid attack. When the time came, Russel could restrain almost anyone. "I know you're hurtin' Muds." Russel spoke calmly in an attempt to cool the furious Murdoc. "But look at him." Russel tilted his head to 2D, who was attempting to compose himself on the floor and had managed to adopt a sitting position. "He's hurtin' at lot more than you man." Murdoc shot him a '_And what the hell is that supposed to mean?_' look before finally dropping his head in defeat.

"Guess your right lards" Mudoc kept his eye contact with the floorboards and mumbled a barely audible apology to 2D.

Russel let his grip on Murdoc go when he was satisfied that the bassist's violent streak had ended. He then noticed Murdoc's bleeding hand and gestured for him to go and clean up in the kitchen. He reluctantly agreed. Russel went to follow him but froze in the doorway when he noticed that their singer had not yet moved from his sitting position on the floor.

"'D, ya comin?" Russel almost pleaded with his friend, he didn't want to risk leaving 2D alone, fearing he might do something stupid.

2D slowly turned towards the drummer using his sleeve to wipe up the wetness on his face. He sniffled and chocked back another sob before finally speaking. "Nah Russ. I'm-I'm gonna stay 'ere for a bit…f-for when she comes back. I-I Don't want 'er comin' back to an empty room."

"'D, she aint comin' ba-"

"-I don't want 'er to be on 'er own when she comes back." The singer stated.

"'D, I-"

"-Cuz she wos lonely weren't she Russel? On 'er island. She wos alone. She musta bin so scared Russ. Where were we? We shuda' bin there-I shuda bin there. I shuda told 'er that everyfink wos alright. I shuda stopped it Russ! I shuda saved 'er!" 2D broke down once again into a fit sobs, letting out small inconsistent yelps of heartache and anguish.

On that day, it had been made clear to Russel that something had been permanently broken inside Stuart Pot.

The days seemed to go by so much slower after Noodle's departure. Continuing with the band seemed pointless without her there; after all, she was their heart.

Each of them dealt with their grief in different ways. Murdoc's days consisted of getting drunk beyond recognition and coming up with the most absurd conclusions as to were their little love had disappeared to. Since there wasn't a body recovered at the El Manana crash sight, Noodle's fate had been debatable. Murdoc's craziest conclusion to date had been that she was trapped in hell and that the three of them would have to go and rescue her.

2D spent a whole two weeks in Noodle's abandoned bedroom after her disappearance. He only moved from his spot when he absolutely had to. Russel would bring him food and attempt to converse with him. But his attempts to get through were useless.

As time passed, they all seemed to heal. Not completely though. The scars were still present; none of them were the same.

2D was the first to leave Kong. Despite still fearing for the blue haired singer's mental state, Russel let him go, it was for the best. 2D had become a shell of the person that he used to be and staying in Kong wasn't good for him. The place sheltered so many memories of their guitarist and it became apparent that none of them could properly get over her whilst still residing there.

Russel was the next to go. His departure was sudden and unannounced. Russel left the very same day that a hand written letter addressed to him had arrived at Kong. Its contents consisted of a small sheet of paper containing a phone number. It was simply sighed with an 'N'.

This left Murdoc to drink away his earnings and come up with some of his most outrageous schemes to date, the first of which involved some local kids and a box of matches.

#######End Flashback#######

* * *

"Yer better be yankin' ma chain lards!"

"I'm sorry man. I had to think of my baby-girl. I don't expect someone like you to understand my motive. Ya ass never did anythin' to benefit someone else." Russel felt guilt creep up inside him once again.

"I thought it wos me who messed up the dullard. But it wos you. You did this to 'im Russ, not me!" Murdoc fumed around his study. It was his turn to be angry now, his turn to give someone a talking down. Oh, how he loved to be right.

"No Muds! We're both to blame. I'll admit it, I coulda done more, I coulda helped him. But you, there was no need for what yo did to him. We caused this Muds. That means that we'll fix this, together."

"Oi! I'm not gonna be tha' one ta blame!…wait! That mean you're comin' here? You're gonna' come ta plastic beach?"

"I guess so." Russel sighed and raised his hand to his head and rubbed his temples. He didn't expect this much drama to piss all over his day, it was only 10am, not even lunch yet.

"Oh mate, yer gonna love it 'ere, I got booze ta last us to eternity." Murdoc went on, he liked to idea of having Russel back, though of course he would never admit it.

"This aint about drinkin' Muds. This is about clearing up after ourselves, fixing our mistakes."

"I know- I know." Murdoc signed, he hated having to think of other's before himself. He had been forced to learn from a young age that looking out for number one should always be his main prerogative. Showing compassion for others almost made him physically sick. "But Russ, like I said before. We aint gonna 'elp Dents if it's just me and you. We need 'er Russ. We need Noodle."

"…I don't know Muds. I don't know if I want to bring my Noodle-girl into this." Russel shook his head and let out another sigh. No matter how he though about it, he still saw Noodle as a teenager. Even though he was fully aware that she was now 19…a woman, it was still quiet a hard concept to grasp. Maybe he was wrong, maybe she could handle this, and maybe Murdoc was right. He shuddered at the thought of Murdoc being the logical one, _how the hell did that happen?_ Russel soon came to the conclusion that 2D did indeed need all of them. "Okay Muds, We'll get Noodle."

"Great…wots 'er number then?"

"You must be crazy if ya think I'm letting you be da one to break this to her." Noodle may not be Russel's little girl anymore, but Mudoc was still Murdoc after all.

"Fine"

"Good"

"Great"

"Alright Muds, cut it o-"

"-Wonderf-"

"Man, I swear if you keep this up, ima make it impossible fo you ta talk again. Clear?"

"Crystal…I'll see yer then Russ…Erm…thank you." Murdoc quickly hung up the phone after mumbling his gratitude. He hated being humble, in fact he felt quiet queasy at the thought. Darting his eye's around his study he needed something to be cruel to. He could always go and give the dullard a good beating. Oh right…he couldn't do that anymore. Lost in the thought of what he would no longer be allowed to do, Murdoc didn't quiet hear the increasingly delusional 2D having another '_conversation_' with the cyborg on the floor below sea level. Things were getting worse.

* * *

Monday mornings were always slow. A young woman began tapping her fingers on the hard glass counter. She placed her elbow on top of the surface and rested her head on her non-occupied hand. She suddenly jolted out of her daze when a streak of bright blue passed the window. Her emerald eyes held hope in them until reality caught up with her. She realised it was probably just a hat or an umbrella or something and not the head of hair which she had hoped for.

She peered down into the clear glass and caught a glimpse of her reflection. Her purple hair was brushed back into a messy ponytail and the loose choppy sections which usually occupied her eyesight were pinned back. She smiled slightly as the thought of how much she had changed crossed her mind. _If only they could see me now_.

She straightened up and moved from her position behind the counter. She began to stroll around the shop. _Her_ shop. She had made a living by opening up a musical instrument store in London. The occupation just seemed ideal for her; after all she had an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of music. She moved her hand across the strings of one of the guitars mounted on the wall and grinned at the quiet noise coming from the instrument.

A sudden buzzing coming from her pocket soon shook her from her thoughts. She reached in and took the phone out. Without even glancing at the caller, she flipped it open and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"

She was caught off guard when a smooth, deep, American accent flowed through the speaker and reached her ear.

"Baby-girl?..."


	2. Four Years

_A/N: Hello everyone! Okay so I'm going to shamelessly jump on the band wagon now and thank my reviewers by giving them a shout out: __**WannaBeStacie**__**, **__**Ketsueki beri**__**, **__**Gimmie back that fillet o'fish**__**, **__**Jessicupcake**__ and__** Set.**__ Thank you for your reviews! xX _

_Also thanks to everyone who favourited this story, makes me happy that you have faith in me :D _

_Okay on with this chapter, not too sure on it, just feels a bit rushed. But at least we get development…yay! _

_If you haven't read 'The Substitute' yet please do so, as it will make this story easier to understand._

_Reviews are very welcome, but you know what they say about ppl who flame…they get burned. JK, sort of._

_Disclaimer: Gorillaz belong to Damon and Jamie, if they belonged to me, April-ish would have actually been in April! *mumbles* Still waiting on those goddamn keys…_

_

* * *

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2. Four years

The weather man had mainly been ignored that morning; he just talked to himself in the background, barely audible. However a few pieces of information actually were heard and registered by the large drummer packing his suitcase. Apparently there were clear skies to be expected and temperatures peaking at around 26 °C. Looks like a nice day.

Russel gave a satisfied sigh when he realised that his packing was finally finished. Removing his hefty case from the table, he quickly fumbled around looking for a pen and sheet of paper. He quickly set the paper down on the table and brought the tip of the pen down to it, he froze. The realisation of what he was doing hit him hard. He was effectively breaking up with his girlfriend by a shoddy little note. He felt like a coward, a let down. This wonderful woman had wasted 3 years of her life on him, and he couldn't even wait till she woke up to say goodbye. Russel took the time to rationalise things, today was undoubtedly going to be stressful.

For one, he was discarding the life that he had made for himself: quitting his job, leaving his home, ending his relationship. Secondly he was going to see his Noodle-girl for the first time in four years, which was going to be heart wrenching in itself. Then he would have to endure a long ass boat journey to reach a heap of plastic in the middle of the ocean, not to mention the long list of problems that waited for him when he did arrive. Yes, the stress of today was already playing on Russel's mind, maybe it was a good idea to break up by note. Lord knows he didn't have the emotional energy to deal with that as well as everything else.

His focus returned to the blank sheet in front of him. He instantly started writing all the known clichés in the book. _It's not you it's me_, _there's plenty more fish in the sea_ or _you deserve so much better than me_, that was a good one. It wasn't that he didn't care about her, he really did, in fact maybe after all this is over they could be together again. But she just never understood his bond with his band, she never even tried. To Russel, his life with the Gorillaz and his new life with her were two completely different worlds, he never did, nor will he ever try to connect the two. That wouldn't be healthy for any of them.

After finishing his letter to her, he set it down neatly on their kitchen table, along with a cup of coffee he made, just the way she liked it. He knew she would be up soon. Rummaging through his pockets, he reached his house keys and placed them neatly down on the table alongside the note and the coffee. As he made his way to the door, he took one final look around his home and sighed a goodbye to the empty room before him. Opening the door and then silently closing it after him marked a new chapter in Russel's life. One he had been secretly hoping to start as soon as possible.

* * *

The docks were practically empty, only the sound of a few gathered seagulls and some nearby fishermen were heard over the soft waves hitting the pier. The sun was high in the sky and its heat was already prominent even this early in the morning, the forecast was right.

Noodle sat with her feet dangling over the pier, she kicked them back and fourth in the open air, small splashes from the waves were hitting the soles of her feet. She had been waiting for nearly half an hour now. Her belongings were already secured on their boat, and the captain was becoming impatient. He turned to her and cleared his throat to alert her. Noodle quickly faced him with a questioning look on her face. He responded by raising an eyebrow and tapping an imaginary watch on his wrist.

"Sorry." She responded apologetically, "He won't be long, I promise."

The man simply shrugged and let out an annoyed groan as he turned away from her again. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to bloody well sail his boat to Point sodding Nemo, but the money was good, and he needed it. Now if only his other passenger would show up. The sooner they set off, the sooner he could get this over and done with.

Noodle became a little concerned. Russel was supposed to be here by now. She took a deep breath to compose herself. Russel had never let her down in the past, why would he start now? So instead of worrying, she decided to take this time to immerse herself in her own thoughts. The one which kept circling round her head came back to her again. She spent the last few days contemplating it.

Why had she been so willing to give everything up for _him_?

She had spent four years building a new life for herself. Four years to forget about being a superstar. Four years to grow up. Yet when she got that phone call regarding Stuart Pot, she threw her new life out of the window and immediately made arrangements to travel to Plastic Beach. The thought baffled her, she didn't quiet understand it. But she had known from her first meeting with the blue haired, black eye's singer that there had been an undeniable bond between them. She would do anything for him, it was unconditional. She knew deep down that the feeling was mutual; he would go to hell and back for her.

Back then, when she was young and naive, she just assumed that it was because they were best friends. But in four years her feelings for him had become more understandable. It was more than friendship. The longer she was away from him, the stronger these strange feelings got. It grew into a want, a need. She used to daydream about if she'd ever see him again; just the thought of mere physical contact, something as simple as holding his hand, would cause her chest to flutter uncontrollably. A quick thought flashed though her mind, the though of being intimate with him caused her to become overheated and flushed. She silently blushed as the tried to push the thoughts as far away as possible.

But her heart had broken when she heard of the state he was now in. He was broken inside…because of her. Because of her selfish act. She didn't need to fake her death, she could have contacted him, give him closure. She mentally kicked herself, she was a monster. But the longer she left it, the harder it became to even attempt any contact with her old band mates. In her absence she had only ever spoken to Russel a few times, and their conversations only lasted a couple of minutes each. Any chance to for fill her desires, urges and lust regarding the singer would have to wait until they helped rebuild his fragile state of mind. Another thought crossed Noodle as she sat there thinking. Did 2D even know that she was alive? Surely Murdoc must have told him, right? Would 2D even care now? He had '_her_' after all.

She scowled at the calm ocean when her thoughts lead her to the cyborg. The thought of a thing going around, pretending it was her made her stomach turn, she felt sick and a little terrified at the concept. But there was nothing she could do, what's done is done. The three of them can only learn from their mistakes and attempt to put them right. This made her increasingly anxious to depart for her destination, if only a certain someone would show up…

The sound of Russel's car pulling up was enough to gain Noodle's ever shifting attention. She quickly snapped her head round to see him. She gazed in wonder as the large percussionist emerged from the driver's side. It was safe to say that Russel's build had hardly changed in the time they spent apart, and she couldn't be happier about it.

Russel glanced frantically around the dock, searching for his baby-girl. His white eyes fell on the form of a young woman ecstatically waving him over. That couldn't be the same Noodle could it?

She was taller now; she must be at least 5 foot 4. Her vibrant purple hair had grown to her shoulders, but her bangs remained, except now she brushed them to the side so that her jade green eyes were visible. She still retained a small frame, but over the past four years her body had developed and filled out. This was defiantly not the awkward, skinny fifteen year old that had walked out of their lives.

Russel dropped his luggage and quickly made his way over to where she stood. When he was only a few feet away from her, he stopped, noticing that she seemed reluctant.

"Baby-girl, what's da matter with you? Get your ass over here!" His face had transformed into one big beaming smile. She resisted at first but could help returning a toothy grin as she quickly closed the distance between them and jumped into a long awaited hug with the drummer.

"Oh Russel-sama, I have missed you so much" Russel's embrace became tighter. "But if you don't stop, I'm going to pass out!" She wheezed out of breath as she began to struggle to escape his bear hug.

"Oh sorry baby-girl, got caught up in the moment s'all" The smile had still not left his face. He was so ecstatic to have his Noodle-girl…Noodle-woman back in his life. Guess he better start thinking of her as a woman now, she certainly wasn't a little girl anymore.

Noodle accompanied Russel back to his car to collect his luggage. They never stopped talking; catching up on the experiences they had both missed. When they reached the boat though, the mood had changed along with the topic of conversation.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Noodle? I spoke to Muds yesterday, 'D's in a pretty bad way. I'm not sure if it's somethin' ya wanna see."

Russel looked over at Noodle after she had failed to answer, she blankly stared out at the ocean, a few tears had begun to form in her eyes. She took a deep breath and turned to him.

"I know, but he is my best friend, I need to help him, I need to save him."

"But that's not your responsibility baby-girl."

"Yes it is Russel-sama! It is our responsibility as a band, as friends." She stated firmly. Noodle had grown a new found confidence since her departure, she could stand up to anyone, even Russel.

The drummer had taken note of her serious, darker tone when the topic had changed to 2D. He then remembered her affection for the singer.

"Do you still…have feelings for him baby-girl?" Russel questioned tenderly, he didn't want to cause her to become more upset then what she already was. She suddenly looked in his direction and pondered on the thought for a minute, before sighing.

"I-I think that it is more than that Russel-sama…I'm not sure…i-it hurts, here" She raised her hand to her chest to signal where her heart was. "When it think about him. Oh Russel-sama, it hurts so badly. I-I just want to be near him, I just want to be with him again so much." She began to blush as the thoughts from earlier crossed her mind.

"I see" Was all that Russel could add. He knew that this was bound to happen one day. As much as he tried to object to it or even stop it, there was nothing he could do. His Noodle had fallen in love.

The pair of them stayed silent and stared out at the horizon as their boat left the dock. The land mass which they had previously called home began to fade away into nothing; as if it had never existed at all.

Russel managed to mumble out a less-than-enthusiastic. "Plastic Beach…here we come."

* * *

The mid afternoon sun which bathed Plastic Beach was a welcome companion to 2D and the replica. Only the pelican and the seagull having yet another mindless conversation could faintly be heard over the crash of the waves. The cyborg was seated on a beach towel; she leaned back and propped her top half up by her elbows whist she 'relaxed' on the shore. 2D had found comfort by lying on his back with his read rested on her abdomen, squinting up at the sky. He moved his hand up to reach one of hers and interlocked their fingers.

He had gotten _clingy_ over the past few days. He spent more and more time with her. In fact today, that was all he did. She had quickly become his life. He had avoided Murdoc at all costs. Why bother the bassist, when all he would get in return is grief? All he needed was his substitute now; she would never do anything to hurt him. She loved him. But _she_ wasn't real.

In reality, it had been Murdoc who was avoiding 2D. Ever since his phone call to Russel, Murdoc had been exceptionally careful when the subject shifted to the vocalist. He had been afraid that the slightest action would send the singer into overload, and his mind would shut down completely. So Murdoc kept his distance but still kept an eye on them. He made a note of 2D's behaviour, so that he could work out some kind of pattern. Then, when Noodle and Russel arrived, they could work out how to approach him. Personally, Murdoc liked a good old intervention. He had been the centre of many in the past, mainly held by his band mates. From what he could remember of them, they were always a good laugh.

2D let out a tired sigh as he tilted his head slightly to look at the cyborg, She smiled back at him, raising one hand to run her fingers through his hair. He quietly cooed at the action and repositioned himself on his side so that his ear was now pressed against her chest, his eyes still fixated on her synthetic ones. He could here the quiet hum emitting from the many motors which occupied her chest cavity. But somewhere in his fragile state of mind, the sound had translated into a steady heartbeat. The deeper he got into this _relationship_ with her, the closer he came to loosing himself. She was all that matted to him now though, she was his saviour, his shining hope. She was all he had left of his little love, and he wasn't about to her let go.

Another sigh escaped the singer, though this one was of satisfaction. His life had become a whole lot simpler once he submitted to the cyborg. He didn't have to fight her anymore; he didn't have to fight anything anymore. They could be together forever, she wouldn't leave him and she couldn't grow old and die. He shifted again and raised himself up on his hands and knees; positioning himself so that he was hovering over her; only inches between them.

He smiled a big, stupid, toothless grin at her and she returned it. He moved to support his weight on one hand and used the other to lift it to her face. He let his hand rest on her cheek for a moment before pulling her into a kiss. He let his lips linger on hers for longer than he should, before finally pulling away. 2D then moved to lie down beside her and motioned his arm for her to join him. She obeyed and moved so that she was snuggling up to his side, wrapping her arms around his middle. He smiled and closed his eyes, falling asleep in the sun.

But none of it was real.

Murdoc had ordered the cyborg to comply with any and all of 2D's requests to avoid any more mental strain. She would accompany him wherever he went, but the _love_ between them, was all a creation in 2D's head. Yes, she was lying there with him on the beach, but their glances, their exchanged smiles, their kisses, were just fantasies.

Murdoc had a clear view of the two of them from his bedroom window; he shook his head at the mess he had created. He turned to leave but a glimmer on the horizon forced him to stay. He squinted slightly to try and figure out what it was. Hope suddenly lit up his scowling face as he realised it was a boat. _Their_ boat.

* * *

The green skinned Satanist fumbled as he rushed to the lift, attempting to pull on his shoes in the process. He tripped as he reached the door. He was like a bewildered child on Christmas morning. He began frantically smashing his hand against the lift panel, hoping it would cause the thing to descend at a faster speed. He stopped hitting it midway through his journey_, that's how the bloody thing broke in the first place!_

Murdoc managed to stumble out of the entrance to his plastic paradise just as the boat was docking. He quickly brushed himself off whilst eagerly awaiting his friends' arrival.

The large drummer was the first to come into Murdoc's view, followed by the small Japanese guitarist.

"Lards!" Murdoc called out with so much enthusiasm that it caused his voice to crack a little and come out high pitched. So much for pride and modesty, _oh who cares_…he was happy to see his friends again.

He found himself running to meet the drummer, almost jumping on him in the process. Russel dropped his luggage to greet the bassist in a friendly long awaited hug. Whilst still locked in the large man's grip Murdoc's gaze fell onto the small boat which they had arrived on.

"Bloody 'ell lards! Surprised tha' think didn't sink wiv yer round arse on it!"

"Nice to see you too." From all of his years with Murdoc, Russel had learned that this was the closest the Satanist would ever come to saying _I've missed you_.

Murdoc then pulled away from the drummer to take a good look at his long lost guitarist. She stared at the ground; a look of shame had embedded itself in her gracious features. She slowly began to shuffle her feel in the sand, awaiting Murdoc's judgement.

"Fake yer own death, an' leave my band will you!"

She snapped her head up to meet him with an outraged glare.

"Build a robot copy of me and leave us out of the new album will you!"

"…Touché!"

Murdoc then relaxed his scowl and smiled at her. "Come 'ere little love!" He beamed opening his arms out to her. She happily obliged and hugged the bassist tightly.

"Good to see you again Murdoc-san." She grinned.

Murdoc helped his two band mates with their luggage as he escorted them to the entrance of Plastic Beach, preparing to give them the grand tour. Just as he was about to open his mouth and begin his ramblings about his new home, he was stopped by a breathless gasp escaping from the young guitarist's mouth. She had seen _them_.

Her emerald eyes seemed to glaze slightly as her focus never left the two forms lying peacefully on the beach. Tears were her first reaction; the second was the deep stabbing pain which had formed in her chest causing her to clutch the material of her t-shirt. She was frozen to the spot as she could only watch the blue haired man lying contently with his lanky arm wrapped around the shoulders of the cyborg. She turned to stare at Murdoc with a '_how could you?_' expression plastered on her face. Her eyes had already filled with the forming tears that were now spilling out, making tracks down her cheeks. She immediately made a jerky movement to head in the direction of

The singer, but was forcefully pull back by the bassist.

"Get off me!" She yelped out in aguish as she raised a fist to fight off the older man.

"Noodle!" Russel called out to calm her down and stop any pending violence.

"Look love, wot d'yer think goin' over there in yer state's gonna solve?" Murdoc spoke rationally. "The dullard still thinks yer dead! I know yer want ta see 'im, but just poppin' up outta the blue aint gonna 'elp is it? Its jus' gonna make things worse."

Noodle stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head slightly. Her vision had begun to blur from the salty mass of tears in her eyes. She then looked to Russel for any form of conformation.

"He's right baby girl." Russel nodded and offered her a small smile for comfort. She tilted her head down to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably.

Murdoc's gaze moved back to the pair on the beach and then to the watch on his wrist as he let go of Noodle. He sighed in defeat.

"Tell yer wot love. If yer wait around for a minute or so, I'll let you have yer little reunion with faceache."

Noodle quickly turned to him with a puzzled look as she moved her hand to clear the tear stains from her face. She shook her head again, not understanding him. Russel too was now intrigued to find out what the bassist was up to.

Instead of explaining himself, he gestured for them to focus back on 2D and the cyborg.

After about five minutes, they observed as 2D moved slightly from his position and propped himself up, so that he now sat with his legs in front of him and was supported by his arms either side. He then started fumbling through his pockets and eventually pulled out a small orange tube with a white cap. The three of them quickly recognised it was his pills. He opened the seal; poured a couple into his hand and dry swallowed them.

Murdoc fidgeted slightly, it appeared that this was what they were waiting for. He then yelled out a command to the cyborg. The replica awkwardly got to her feet and turned around making her way over to where Murdoc, Russel and Noodle stood outside the entrance. They couldn't help but notice that 2D didn't respond even the slightest to her absence. It was as if he didn't even notice she had left him.

Russel and Noodle stared at Murdoc's creation, which was now moving towards them. They glared in both disgust and admiration. She was a stunning copy of the guitarist. The resemblance was uncanny, but the idea of her, made them extremely uneasy.

The cyborg stopped when she was only a few feet away from them, her eyes wondering over the two unfamiliar forms before her. Murdoc quickly made his way over to her and pulled her away from his friends. Noodle felt an uncontrollable serge of anger run through her threatening to manifest as the replica brushed past her arm. She glared at Murdoc, watching him guide the thing away from them, practically shoving it inside the entrance to Plastic Beach so that it wasn't in view anymore.

He returned to Russel and Noodle, dusting off his hands.

"Right…yer can see 'im now." He stated pointing his hand in the direction of 2D and placing the other one on Noodle's shoulders, giving her a slight shove to start her.

"What? You said it would be too much for him." Noodle protested, not wanting to cause anymore damage.

"Look, sweet 'eart, the dullard's doped out on 'is pills again. If yer just go over there and pretend ta be that thing fer a bit, 'e won't know the soddin' difference."

She looked passed Murdoc to Russel again. The large drummer simply nodded his head in agreement. She let out a shaky breath as she attempted to compose herself. She slowly took a step forward, in the direction of the singer.

* * *

2D became aware of the sound of slight movement coming from behind him. He didn't respond to it though, he didn't respond to anything. He just sat in his blissfully unaware state thanks to the strong effects of his medication.

Noodle warily took a seat behind him. She bowed her head down and tried to ready herself for the much needed physical contact she was about to initiate. She slowly raised her hands and rested her palms on the singer's shoulders; she quivered slightly at the sensation of his bare skin under her hands. He responded by slowly leaning back into her touch. The need became too much for her and she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around his neck from behind, and buried her face in his hair. She had waited four years just to touch him again and now that she had that sensation, she wasn't about to let it go.

He leaned back again so that his head now rested on her chest. He moved one of his hands up to softly stroke the skin on her arms. She grinned slightly, noticing his relaxed expression and closed eyes. Even though she was smiling, she couldn't stop another flood of tears as they cascaded down her face. She turned her head slightly to rest her cheek against the top of his head and rocked them both gently side to side.

Noodle noticed 2D grin slightly at the gentle movement. She then was caught off guard by a barely audible mumble that escaped his lips.

"…Noodle…"

She became overwhelmed with sobs yet again as her grip on him became tighter.

"Sorry." She whispered softly to him; though she wasn't sure if he could even hear, let alone register her apology. What had they done to him? They had hurt him so much; the pain he must have gone through was unthinkable.

She stayed with him until the drowsy side effects from the pills kicked in completely to render him unconscious. She dreaded the pain that was soon to come when the three of them would inevitably confront him; when he would be forced to realise that this whole peaceful world he created was fake. It would break his heart.

* * *

_A/N: Just a quick note on updates, I write when I have the time, so unfortunately they might be inconsistent, I'll try not to make you wait any longer than a week between chapters…Oh look, what's that down there? Is that a review button I can see?…the poor thing is begging to be pressed. xX_


	3. Intervention!

_A/N: Oh it is nice here on this bandwagon: _**alivet**_**, **_**Beyond-The-Limit****, ****Gimmie back that fillet o'fish****, ****AnaBlack0516****, Set, MasqueradeVixen,****Jordan, May, ****WeirdsBestFriend****,****Ian St. George**_and _**Wordwryhta****. **_Thank you guys so much for the reviews of the last chapter, I really appreciate you taking to time out to let me know what you think, gives me the motivation to write more! :D THANK YOU! XOXOXOX_

_What a sad week, RIP Dennis Hopper_

_Okay, so time for chapter 3, ever notice how plastic beach is missing a kitchen? Not anymore! _

_**I am awesome!**__ Happy now _**Wordwryhta****! **_Oh yes you've unleashed an egotistical monster! Lol. x_

_Oh no! Late update, I kept changing my mind on how I wanted this chapter to turn out so I ended up rewriting parts over and over again! Gwah! Writing is so difficult sometimes! I kept procrastinating whilst writing this. I'd be writing a little, then distracting myself, then writing some more…I'm terrible for getting distracted. Dunno why I got distracted though, this is a pretty eventful chapter! :D _

_Oooo the angst, this chapter is just full of it, I had to…I love the drama too much._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Gorillaz they belong to Damon and Jamie. Tell you what though, I wish Damon and Jamie belonged to me…_

_

* * *

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3. Intervention!

"Russ…eh…Russ…ever noticed how bananas look like dicks?"

The drummer glared up at the bassist with a slightly disgusted scowl and his eyebrow raised.

"How long have you been out here on your own man?"

"…Too long mate." Murdoc quickly released the phallic fruit from his hands and set it down on the kitchen counter wiping off his palms as if it had carried some form of disease.

"Anyway man, now is not the time fo jokes. Me and Noodle didn't come all da way out here fo this, ya know why we're here Muds. We know what we gotta do, and we're ready, but chu, you need ta face up to this and stop playin' da clown, understand!" Russel's words of advice had somehow nearly translated into a threat, as if on impulse, he found himself face to face with the bassist, clutching a fistful of his collar about to throw him ten feet across the room. Russel's eyes suddenly widened at the realisation of his actions. He quickly let go of Murdoc and moved back. "Whoa, sorry man, just got caught up a little there. " He apologised, embarrassed by his outburst.

Murdoc just shrugged off the incident, not like it hadn't happened a million times in the past; in fact, he was used to this kind of reaction from people now. Murdoc Niccals had done a first class job of cocking up nearly everything he could get his meddling green hands on, pissing off a huge number of people in the process. Hell, it wouldn't be normal if he stopped receiving death threats.

Russel suddenly made a move to leave the kitchen and entered the study. He let out a sad sigh as his large frame manoeuvred through the arrangement of furniture to get closer to the two forms which resided on the couch.

2D had lost consciousness about two hours ago. His lanky build was no problem for Russel to carry upstairs and place peacefully in the study, where all of them could keep an eye on him. Noodle had been following very close behind. She hadn't spoken a word to the other two men since her reunion with the singer. Even Murdoc had registered the look of hurt and heartbreak on the young woman's face as she obediently followed Russel and silently set herself down next to the vocalist's unresponsive form on the couch. She gently moved to position his head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. She spoke softly in her native language to him, hoping that somehow her words got through and would help to sooth his distressed mind.

Russel cleared his throat to alert her. Noodle snapped out of her almost trans-like state to quickly look up to the drummer. A slight blush began to make its way across her pale face. She offered him a shallow smile as a lame attempt at reassurance. Russel moved around so that he could crouch in front of Noodle, whose gaze had wondered back to 2D's sleeping form. He tenderly placed his hand on her shoulder when he noticed her aguish.

"Baby-girl…I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought you here. I didn't know he was this bad."

Noodle shook her head vigorously. "Russel-sama, you should not apologise. I was very well aware of this when I made my decision to come here. It's just been so long, and it's just a shock to see him so…broken."

"Noodle I-"

"-He used to be so happy, so full of life, even if at times he seemed vacant." Noodle stopped as she felt her chest ache once again and her sadness became overbearing. She raised her hand to her mouth to stop anymore sobs. She was so sick of crying, so sick of feeling helpless. They needed to do something soon, even if it was for her own selfish peace of mind. As if he read her thoughts, Russel got to his feet and turned back in the direction of the kitchen. Noodle watched his unexplained movements. A few seconds later, he reappeared almost dragging their bassist behind him.

"Wot tha 'ell lards? I wos quiet 'appy where ya left me!" Murdoc protested, swinging his arms back and fourth, resembling a child in the middle of a tantrum.

Russel let go of Murdoc and took his place in the centre of the room, earning an eye role from Murdoc and a raised eyebrow from Noodle. He took a deep breath and began to speak. "Okay, so we need ta do somthin' soon right? I say…" He stopped to look around at his friends. "…I say we start an intervention."

"YES!" Russel and Noodle both quickly moved their attention to Murdoc who was grinning mischievously rubbing his hands together, devising a plan.

"No Muds! We do this right, for his sake." Russel commanded. Murdoc's face suddenly fell as he began to pout, sulking. "When he wakes up we'll talk to him, prepare him. Then…then Noodle will talk to him." Noodle's jaw suddenly dropped, she wasn't ready for this. Well, of course she wanted to talk to him again, but what if he rejected her? After all, he still thought that she was dead, what if he was angry that she had lied to him? She wouldn't be able to handle that.

* * *

The black eyes of the vocalist fluttered open. After taking a minute to register his change in surroundings he jolted into an upright position. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the beach with the cyrborg. But now there was no beach, no cyborg in sight, instead he was greeted by the confines of the study. He let his eyes wonder around to room until they fell on the bassist slouched by the fish tank. 2D let out an annoyed groan, _what does he want now? _He was so sick of Murdoc, so sick of the way he was treated. He glared at the older man.

"Rise and shine princess!" Murdoc screeched out in ear splitting falsetto before returning to his normal pitch. "'bout bloody time too, yer bin asleep fer ages, yer lazy git!"

The vocalist just blankly stared at him; Murdoc seemed unusually upbeat, something wasn't right. He quickly stumbled up from the couch and made a run for the lift door, fearing that Murdoc might launch into a spontaneous attack as he had done in the past. The singer had found himself already face to face with the metal doors, hitting his hand against the panel, hoping that the lift would arrive before Murdoc could catch up to him.

"'D, whatchu doin!"

The singer's hand slowly stopped smashing against the panel as the doors finally opened. He didn't move, he just stared at the empty compartment before him until the doors closed again. He debated in his head whether it was safe to turn around and find the source of that oh so familiar voice. Giving in to his own curiosity, 2D slowly turned to be met by the form of the large drummer who he had walked out on four years ago.

"Russ!" He yelped out in surprise and glee before running to meet his long lost band mate. Now that Russel was here, he could protect 2D from Murdoc, he could protect 2D from the whale. But little did the singer know that the only person Russel came to protect 2D from was himself.

Russel complied and hugged the vocalist with enthusiasm; however the grim look on his face never changed. He pulled back from 2D and took his place beside Murdoc.

"Wot yew doin' 'ere Russ?" The bemused singer was still stuck in his own world to realise the atmosphere in the room had drastically darkened.

"I came back 'D, I came back to help ya out." Russel moved towards him simultaneously with Murdoc, if the singer suddenly bolted on them, like he had done in tense situations before; they would have to be quick in order to catch him. Murdoc quickly ran and locked the studio doors and took his place in front of the lift in order to cover all escape routes. 2D then noticed the strange behaviour of his band mates and began to feel uneasy.

"'Elp me out with wot?" He asked, fidgeting nervously.

Russel glanced over to gain Murdoc's approval before speaking. The bassist nodded his head in agreement with the drummer.

"You're not okay 'D. I know about you and that thing, it's gotta stop man, it's not good fo you." He moved closer to the singer's retreating form. "We only want what's best fo you 'D."

"N-no Russ, yew don't understand. Don't call 'er a thing! She needs me Russ, an I need 'er!" 2D yelled back in defence. His warped mind twisted in denial. His surroundings began to blur and turn hazy as he felt a heavy wave of pressure build up in his head.

"'D, she aint real."

"NO! Stop it Russel! Yew don't get it!" he retaliated, swinging his hands in front of himself, as if he was fighting off the drummer's words. He hated the thought of things changing. He had struggled enough trying to adapt, trying to accept everything that had happened to him lately. The very thought of it all being ripped from underneath him shook him to the very core. He was frightened, no, terrified that he wouldn't be able to handle it. He mover further and further away from them, maybe his body was contemplating an impossible escape route whilst his mind battled with the situation.

Russel attempted to calm him by offering a small smile of reassurance, though it made no difference to the singers retreating form. "'D, just come back here, take a seat, we need to talk about this." Russel's voice was soft but strong, he didn't want to sound threatening to the already shaken singer. 2D just shook his head violently in denial. Then the thought hit him, maybe this wasn't real. Maybe Russel wasn't really there. He couldn't even trust his own senses anymore. He attempted to shake off this hallucination. He raised his hands to cover his ears and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out Russel's words, Russel's _lies. _After a moment, he released his defensive shield to realise that the drummer still stood there in front of him, clear as day.

"'D just listen, please man, I'm beggin' ya." Russel pleaded.

"Why are yew doin' this Russel? This place is 'ell, I hate it 'ere. She's tha only fing I've got Russ, she makes it awright, she makes meh 'appy! Why are yew tryin ta take this away from me?" 2D yelled in frustration, _why couldn't they just let him be happy?_ He had waited for some form of solace for so long; he needed this, this inner peace which she gave him. Little did he realise that he was more conflicted now than he had ever been before.

"Then listen to _her_!" Russel shouted in defeat. He had tried so hard to keep his cool, to pull through for his friend, but 2D refused to see sense, he needed a wake up call now more than ever.

A puzzled look crossed the singer's face as the drummer gestured to the kitchen before nervously shifting his gaze between 2D and the open kitchen door.

2D had noticed that Murdoc, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly tensed up in response to Russel's actions, as if he was preparing himself for something drastic. 2D began to shift again, uncomfortable with his own feelings of uncertainty and anticipating whatever was to come.

"Come on out baby-girl." Russel called.

_Baby-girl_? It had been so long since 2D had heard that particular utterance, he attempted to refresh his memory. He knotted his eyebrows in confusion. Russel only ever called _her_ that.

2D became so lost in his own confusion that he almost missed the unfamiliar form appearing in the kitchen doorway. He instantly recognised a mass of feminine features, but his vision was still slightly blurred thanks to the pressure still building in his head. He squinted as she cautiously began to move closer. It was then that he noticed that Murdoc and Russel seemed to be holding their breath. However he soon focused back on the approaching stranger. It was then when she spoke.

"Stuart?"

His eyes widened in complete shock and horror, his mind in more of a state than ever.

"No, no, no!" He quickly stumbled back until he felt his body come into contact with the cold hard wall behind him. "No, please stop, I've 'ad enough, I don't want ta do this anymore!" He retreated further, sliding down the wall so he was now crouched on the floor. He buried his head in his hands in an attempt to make everything stop. It couldn't be _his_ Noodle, she was dead, he knew that much.

But the relentless Noodle continued to push forward. She moved towards him, even as he continued to dismiss her existence.

"Please 2D-san, it is me. Please talk to me." She spoke softly yet he still flinched with every step she took towards him. She could feel her eyes begin to fill with the salty flow of tears. She feared this; she was so scared that he was going to react this way.

"Jus' leave meh alone!" He cried out as he too was beginning to lose control of his emotions. "Why are yew doin' this to me!" He called out to nobody in particular; it was if some higher power was punishing him, giving him false hope in the form of his little love.

Noodle blinked back the tears as she began to lose patience. She longed for that moment back on the beach a matter of hours ago. She had been so happy just to touch him, and he accepted her contact the way that she had wished he would. That was the reunion that they should have shared, not this. Everything was ruined now, he rejected her, he rejected every aspect of her. Her body had begun to take action before her mind could catch up, she had suddenly swooped down to her knees and practically pinned the singer against the wall.

Murdoc immediately straightened his slouched form at the sudden physical contact between his guitarist and his singer. He opened his mouth to start ranting at them, but was soon hushed by Russel's intense glare. The drummer mouthed a word of warning to the bassist. The pair soon shifted their attention back to Noodle and 2D.

Noodle had found an unusual boost of strength as she forcefully pushed the vocalist's shoulders back into the wall, forcing him to look at her.

"2D, I need you to listen to me." She pleaded in a small voice which cracked slightly due to the strain.

"Yew can't be real!" He shouted in protest, struggling against her grip. He was too weak to fight her off, but still tried to break free.

"I am real." She spoke calmly, stating facts as she took a deep breath.

"B-but, I saw yew…I saw yew fallin'! Oh God! I saw yew fall Noodle!" He yelled out as all of the memories from the day he saw her die came back to him. He couldn't conceal the fit of sobs which were threatening to take over his body. He let his head drop to the floor.

Noodle quickly let got of his shoulders to cover her mouth with her hands. She could now see what she had done to him. She could see the true selfishness of her actions. She couldn't help but begin to break down too at the mere thought of what he must have gone through. She wanted to just get up and leave, to run as far as she could and just scream at the top of her lungs. But she stayed. She had to stay, for him. Taking another bold move, she moved her hands to either side of his face and pulled his head up so that she could look him in the eye.

"I know…I know this is hard for you to understand, but I am here now, I am alive." She spoke firmly, looking deep into his black voids which were only a few inches away from hers.

"'Ow am I supposed ta kno wot's real? I can't believe anyfink anymore." He weakly protested.

Noodle moved one hand away from his face and took a hold of one of his. She guided his hand and moved it up to her chest and placed it firmly where her heart was. She placed her hand on top of his and pushed it down so that her increased heartbeat could be felt.

Murdoc shifted again, he began to feel uncomfortable with the whole situation, he didn't like the look of the dullard's hands all over Noodle's chest. Especially since in her absence she had acquired new…_assets_. He quietly ground his teeth whilst shifting his glare between Russel and his other two band mates, wondering why the large drummer had no desire to intervene.

Noodle tingled slightly at to warmth emitting from the physical contact shared between herself and 2D. She could feel the sensation of his palm on her skin through the thin cotton of her t-shirt; this caused her heart rate to speed up even more. She stared into his black eyes whilst his attention was pulled to where his hand was. She was desperately searching for something to click inside the singer's mind, something that told him this was real.

2D focused on the prominent beat underneath his fingertips. It all felt so strong, too strong to be a hallucination. He desperately searched for something to tell him otherwise, something to tell him he was imagining this, but he couldn't find anything. His tear filled eyes moved back up to meet hers.

"N-Noodle?"

She let out a half-gasp half-sob before throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. His arms had found their place around her back as he clutched her tightly, desperately not wanting to let her go. The familiar feeling of their bodies so close together sparked something different in each of them. Noodle felt overwhelmed with happiness, she could actually envision 2D getting well soon and the two of them sharing some form of a future together. 2D however, felt something entirely different. He was ecstatic to have his little love back in his arms again; it was something he had craved for so long. But there was small voice which echoed in the back of his mind, the voice screamed at him causing him to flinch slightly at a sharp stab of guilt.

2D was far from well.

Noodle noticed the singer wince whilst still locked in their embrace. She pulled back to look him in the eye and was mortified by his twisted frown. She thought that he was happy to see her again. He quickly removed his arms from her back and pushed her away slightly.

"Sorry love, I-I need ta get back ta 'er, she'll be wonderin' where I am." His words were unusually shaky as he attempted to stumble to his feet. Noodle's arms were still wrapped around his neck; he moved a hand back to detach himself from her. She protested.

"No she won't." Noodle stated plainly, she had quickly realised that 2D was obviously still delusional regarding his relationship with the cyborg. Her heart sank; old Stu-Pot was still as crazy as ever. Her face fell in defeat, she thought that she had gotten through to him, she thought that they had made progress, she was wrong. "2D-san you are not well, stay here with us please." She begged.

"No, s-she needs me!" He attempted to get to his feet again and to distance himself from Noodle. He managed to get upright, however Noodle's persistent form still pinned him against the wall despite that fact that he towered nearly a foot over her. He attempted to escape her again but was stopped by her hands grasping his arms.

"You're not leaving here Stuart!" She shouted out as she let her frustration get the better of her. This caused 2D's composure to crack and he began to retreat into a heap on the floor again.

"P-please Noodle, she loves meh! Yew don't understand, none o' yew understand, jus' leave me alone!"

The tears returned thick and fast for Noodle as she began to become hysterical, she couldn't do this anymore, it hurt her too much, she retreated back from him just as Russel had decided to intervene.

2D misunderstood Russel's movement towards him and interpreted it as a threat. He quickly stumbled to his feet but ended up tripping over his own limbs and effectively knocked himself unconscious in the process, when his heavy head came into contact with the floor. This earned a completely inappropriate howl of laughter which erupted from Murdoc.

Russel glared in the bassist's direction to stop the unwanted mocking. Murdoc quickly complied and walked over to the rest of them. Russel crouched by Noodle, who was seated on the floor, still heavily sobbing with her head in her hands. The drummer made an attempt to comfort her but she stopped him by raising her hand to keep the distance between them. She eventually lifted her face when the hysteria wore off and motioned for Russel to help 2D instead.

Russel reluctantly left her side and moved over to where their singer's unconscious body lay on the floor. He let out a tired sigh before picking the younger man up over his shoulder. He moved him back to the couch where they would wait for his sleeping form to awaken and start this all over again.

Noodle had managed to get herself onto her hands and knees, but her legs were refusing to work making it practically impossible to stand. The stress and anguish of today had made her feel increasingly nauseous, it was then that she realised that she hadn't eaten since she was on the boat. Murdoc moved to her side and offered a hand to help her up. Instead of accepting his unusually kind gesture she did the next best thing. She suddenly threw up, letting the small amount of stomach contents spill all over the floor and all over Murdoc's brand new Cuban heels.

* * *

Noodle had found herself wondering aimlessly around the many confines of Plastic Beach. 2D had been out cold for a while so there was nothing that any of then could do until he came round again. _Not like he'd listen. _She thought bitterly to herself. Thought her bitterness was never aimed at 2D, it was aimed at her, that _thing_.

He anger was unjustified though, the cyborg had never done anything wrong to her, it hadn't planned any of this, it just did at it was told. It didn't have a conscience and it didn't feel emotion. Though Noodle knew the real reason she was so hostile towards the thing, jealousy. The affection that 2D had for that undeserving piece of metal caused her to become increasingly frustrated that he didn't show the same for her.

Noodle had unknowingly become lost in her own thoughts and as a consequence had become unfamiliar with her surroundings. She had found herself in a round room with various large pieces of machinery scatted in a random layout. A moderate hum emitted from many sources. Noodle figured that she probably shouldn't be there, so she made a turn for the exit. However something caught her eye, her name. She was just quickly scanning the room before leaving when her eyes had fallen on a door with her name written on it. She tilted her head to the side and attempted to understand it. The painfully obvious thought came to her, it was the cyborg's room. Against her better judgement, Noodle's curiosity got the better of her and she found herself opening the cupboard door.

The small storage space was dark and damp. Noodle was caught off guard by the haul of weaponry mounted against the walls. She had always been a pacifist; it disgusted her that something made in her image stood for something she was so strongly against.

She squinted in the dark room to try and get a better look at the lifeless figure of the cyborg ahead of her. The thing was crouched down facing the opposite wall, with her back to Noodle. The guitarist made a sudden lunge towards the metal frame of the replica; her anger became overwhelming as she found herself tackling it. The cyborg toppled over into a heap on the floor and surprisingly remained unresponsive. Noodle turned it's head so that it now faced her. Just looking at that shallow copy of her own features caused her rage to grow and become uncontrollable.

She quickly gripped ether side of it's face, lifted it slightly, and smashed it down on the floor as hard as she could. She became lost in a frenzy of her own anger as she repeated the action. She just kept smashing it's metal skull against the floor over and over, her assaults becoming more violent every time. Eventually she felt the metal being to drastically dent. Her hands became warm and wet as a strange liquid began oozing from the deformed face of the cyborg.

The stench from the mysterious black liquid was strong enough to force Noodle to snap out of her frenzy. She blinked and looked down at the mess she had created. Her expression twisted in horror as she realised what she had done. She quickly dropped it's head from her grasp and jumped back in disgust. She glared nervously down at the black liquid which coated her hands. She quickly glanced back at the deformed cyborg in front of her, realising in horror that she had _murdered_ it. She edged back until she felt her body come into contact with the door and let out a pleading cry.

"What have I done?"

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_A/N: wow that was dark…yeah, I warned ya things were gonna get dramatic. Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews on my last chapter. xX_


	4. The Dream And The Enemy

_A/N: Well I've had an exciting week; I've been really busy so that kind of explains the late update, kind of…_

_Lets start off with giving my lovely reviewers a much needed shout out: _**Wordwryhta****, ****eternal-memorys****, ****WeirdsBestFriend****, Jordan, ****Gimmie back that fillet o'fish****, ****Ian St. George****, ****Rin Koorbloh**, **TheyUsed2D** _and_ **May. **_Thank you so much for your reviews, seriously it's like Christmas morning when I find out what you guys have to say! Lots of love going out to you :D xX_

_Everyone! _**TheyUsed2D **_Has started a story inspired by this and 'The Substitute' called _**That Green Gentleman**_, check it out and let her know what you think, methinks she's got some great potential ;D_

_Have to admit something here; I was completely lost at the end of the last chapter. Don't get me wrong, I have planned this story out, I just kept changing my mind. So now I've decided to merge my next two chapters into this one (Don't worry, still the same amount of development, just not dragged out as much)._

_They were originally called '4. The Death Of The Dream' and '5. To Love The Enemy' so this one is a hybrid of the two. _

_The second half of this chapter is told from 2D's point of view, well this is a story about him, we finally get an insight as to what's going on in his head. Let me tell ya, it's rather dark in there._

_Disclaimer: I don't Own the Gorillaz, Damon and Jamie do. Maybe I'll make two robot copies…Jamon and Damie…that could be fun. xX_

_Hope the length of this chapter makes up for the delay: D_

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4. The Dream And The Enemy

The oil mixed with the hot water making it an impossible substance to remove. Adding soap didn't help to shift the mixture either. Noodle's hands started to turn red from the constant scrubbing, they became tender and sore yet she continued with the motion. The consistent flow of tears, which hadn't even shown the slightest sign of subsiding since _it_ happened, caused her vision to become slightly blurred. Her breaths were shaky and uneven as she fought her hardest to stop any cries from escaping her mouth. The last thing that she needed was to draw attention to herself. She began to panic at the thought of her band mates finding out what she had done, the stress only caused her to scrub harder.

Night-time had fallen over Plastic Beach and its residence were sound asleep, at least that was the way that she wanted to keep it. Noodle closed her eyes and paused her actions, silently praying that nobody could hear her. Her level of panic increased when it dawned on her that she hadn't exactly been discreet when she exited the cupboard in a hurry. She had bolted out of the door and took the quickest root to the nearest bathroom not taking into account the volume that her escape had caused.

Her breathes became even more uneven when the low hum of the elevator met her ears. She was mentally willing her body to make a run for it, but her limbs had been seized by her panic and her body had refused to take action. Instead she fixated on the sink before her as she watched the black liquid slowly make its way down the drain.

"Noodle-girl…is that you?" A soft American accent filled the study and the adjacent bathroom which Noodle currently hid in. Like a moth drawn to a flame, the drummer was soon drawn to the light emitting from the bathroom. Before Noodle could compose herself enough to give an audible response, she found the larger man stood in the doorway.

"Whatchu doin up this late?" He groaned out as he was still warily rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The ability to focus and register his surroundings had become a whole lot more painful once his corneas were greeted by the bright light.

Noodle suddenly backed away from the sink and retreated to the corner of the small room. Her hands were still stained in the evidence of her vicious attack. She closed her eyes and waited for Russel's realisation.

"Noodle?" He questioned, noticing that she hadn't replied yet. He then let his eyes scan the scene before him. The floor was soaked in a dark liquid; the guitarist's footprints had made prominent disturbances in the stream of black. The white porcelain sink was also blackened by this strange substance which seemed to consume the majority of the bathroom. There were also small splashes of it on the small mirror above the sink. Russel then let his gaze move to the form of the cowering Noodle, still retreating back from him. He noticed that she too was covered in the unusual mixture. Her hands were soaked in it, there were also small splashes coating her forearms and her face.

"What happened?" His tone was stern yet concerned at the same time as he frantically tried to piece the situation together, was his Noodle-girl hurt? Did she need help? She backed away further into the corner, her eyes still tightly closed and her fists clenched, causing the oil which coated them to drip on the tiled floor.

The stench from the oil reached Russel's nostrils as he recognised the substance. He turned back to Noodle with an eyebrow raised and a grim frown plastered on his features. He was becoming impatient with the young woman's silence.

"NOODLE!"

The sudden yell from the drummer caused Noodle to be shaken from her unresponsive state. Her eyes shot open and she jumped back a little. Her lips had curled into an awkward frown and her eyes filled with tears. She shakily turned to face him, her features plagued with guilt.

"I-I didn't mean to…" Was all she could spit out before the panic and realisation sunk in again. She lowered gaze and shook her head, attempting to convince herself that this was all a terrible nightmare, one that she should wake up from at any moment. Things were so messed up, everything that the four of them once shared was now spoiled, and she had gone and made everything worse.

"What did you do?" Russel questioned firmly. He had a horrific idea in his head of what his Noodle-girl may have done, but he was desperately trying to redeem her, searching for something, anything which told him that she was innocent. Russel knew very well what she was capable of. If Noodle lost her temper she could practically tare down a city in her rage, that's what she was created for after all. He also knew how much the mere existence of the cyborg had angered and troubled her. The percussionist also knew of her love for the singer, and the fact that she would do almost anything for him. He slotted the pieces together rather quickly; his once innocent Noodle had seemed to have completely faded. The young woman before him was someone different, a changed person, and she had _killed_ Murdoc's creation.

"Noodle" He sighed as his head dropped and he gained eye contact with the floor. Russel began to rub his temples in stress and shook his head slightly in disappointment.

"I-I didn't mean it…I didn't I swear…I just lost it!" She protested in defence as another wave of hysteria began to take over her as it had done frequently in recent situations. Another serge of mixed emotion pulsed through her. "S-she didn't deserve him! Why did he love her and not me!" She cried out in anguish and frustration.

Russel moved from his position in the doorway in an attempt to calm her down. As he moved towards her, he left a large enough gap for her to escape the claustrophobic confines of the small en suite. She took her chance and bolted through the doorway into the study before Russel even had a chance to catch up with her.

"Baby-girl!" He called after her. "Yo havta face up to this! Think of 'D!" He pleaded. To Russel's surprise, she stopped. She turned to face him; a bitter, salty sting still obscured her vision. She nodded slightly in agreement, even through she only party heard his plea. Russel continued. "Baby-girl…what's done is done; we can't change it and yo can't run from it. We just havta face this shit in life. As fo 'D, maybe this'll be good fo him. It can either kill him or cure him right?" His words were meant as some form of comfort to sooth the distressed Noodle; however they just caused her state to become worse.

"Oh God!" She screeched in a pitch that caused her strained voice to painfully crack under the pressure. It dawned on Noodle the true consequences of her actions. 2D would be utterly heartbroken. She feared the worst, what if this caused him to completely loose it, what if this caused his condition to become irreversible? All of these years she and Russel had blamed Murdoc for damaging their singer. But compared to the damage Noodle had inflicted, Murdoc was practically a saint. The drummer and the bassist had been so careful with 2D, and what had she done? She had taken to first chance she got to mess things up all over again, just as she had done with El Manana. She was a monster, she was the enemy.

"Noodle, chill, it'll be okay." Russel moved to her again as he noticed her become more upset.

"No! I've fucked up Russel-sama! He'll hate me!" She began retreating from him again.

"Mind yo language!"

"But I have!"

"Noodle!" Russel made a swift lunge and grabbed one of her slender wrists. She fought back with fury. They both struggled against each other until Noodle's back forcefully came into harsh contact with Murdoc's fish tank.

The contact was enough to shake the large glass case to the point that it easily toppled over and shattered instantly on the floor. Both the guitarist and the drummer let out a large gasp of horror as they witnessed the devastating mess. The crash of the fish tank caused a huge disturbance which rumbled through the very skeletal structure of Plastic Beach. Without even a shared utterance between Noodle and Russel, they knew that surely Murdoc and 2D would have woken.

Noodle began glancing nervously around as Russel still kept a strong grip on her to avoid her attempted escape plans. As if like clockwork, the predictable hum of the lift was heard. Noodle struggled against Russel once more, suddenly loosing the confidence to face up to her crime.

The metal doors pinged and unleashed a half-asleep half-hung-over Mr Niccals on his two band mates. His eyes were bloodshot and full of annoyance and he graced their presence in only his underwear, as usual.

"Wot the fuck is goin' on!" He yelled in a half hearted rage, he was far too tired to launch an attack on the two. He blinked a little and let his mismatched eyes adjust to the light. His mouth flew open when he caught sight of his fish tank. "Yer killed ma fish! Yer fuckin' killed my soddin' fish yer bastards!" The Satanist swooped down to morn his loss whilst inspecting the damage pulling on his hair in the process. Murdoc was still crouched on the floor as he turned to send an intense glare towards his band mates. Midway through forming a sentence he was cut off by Russel.

"Sorry man. I guess I just kinda lost my footin'" The drummer apologised with a grin. When he noticed that Murdoc's scowl hadn't subsided, he continued. "Muds…I'll get ya a new fish tank, with new fish, tropical fish" He offered. Russel was desperately attempting to keep the focus off their youngest member.

Murdoc finally gave in and mumbled something under his breath before turning to head back to the lift. However, he was stopped by the sound of it travelling to his current destination. He swung his arms out in annoyance and defeat.

"Great, looks like the soddin' circus is commin' ta town! Just wot we need, them two ta piss on our parade.!" He groaned aloud, the thought of having to deal with 2D and the cyborg was enough for Murdoc. He just wanted to go back to bed and not have to deal with this crap until at least noon-ish.

Noodle bit down on her lip hard at the mention of Murdoc's creation. She tried her hardest not to break down again as she blinked back the tears. Russel was mentally willing her to keep composure, god only knows what Murdoc would do if he found out. However, their unusual behaviour was soon clocked by the bassist. He turned to glare at his band mates, who were both nervously shifting their feet. He let out a large irritated sigh. "Look Lards, yer better tell me wots goin o-"

Murdoc was unable to finish his sentence as the ping from the elevator arriving had disturbed the entire room.

A timid 2D slowly and cautiously made his way into the room only to be met by silence. He nervously kept his focus on the floor as to avoid any eye contact with his friends. He had purposely kept his distance from all of them since he had awoken from yet another concussion earlier that afternoon. He backed away from the others slightly, not wanting to face the wrath of another impending intervention; the last one had been enough for him. Though it had been eye opening, learning that Noodle was still alive after all this time brought a sense of relief to the singer yet it also caused him to become even more conflicted.

The vocalist carefully gazed around the study to find the origin of what brought him there in the first place. His hunt lead him to the shattered fish tank on one side of the room and his three friends crowded around it. His focus then seemed to be drawn to Noodle, who was the furthest away from him; she also seemed to be backing away from the rest of them, causing the distance between 2D and herself to become greater. He tilted his head and pondered why she had her hands hidden behind her back and had suddenly become fascinated with an empty spot on the wall ahead of her. Then it hit him.

The smell of oil.

He then became aware that the whole study appeared to reek of it. The unpleasant smell seemed to cause an uneasy feeling to stir inside of him. He realised that _she_ wasn't there. In a flash of panic, he began to shake, the thought of loosing yet another lifeline. On top of his many other mental issues, 2D had developed an irrational fear of people leaving him since Noodle's apparent death. Every time that the cyborg wasn't around for whatever reason, he became overwhelmed with paranoia, thinking that something dreadful must have happened to her. However little did he know that this time, he was actually right. For a second he caught Noodle's eye. She stared at him with guilt embedded on her features, he rose and eyebrow to question her. She suddenly broke down into a fit of sobs and cries. Russel and Murdoc swiftly turned their attention to her, leaving 2D the perfect escape route.

The paranoia had won its battle to take over the singer; he practically sprinted to the lift. As quickly as he had arrived there, he had disappeared out of sight; none of them even had the slightest chance of stopping him.

"No!" Noodle cried out, but it was too little, too late. She glanced nervously at Russel, as if he was some sort of god like figure who could reverse time and stop all of this. But Russel couldn't do anything; he shook his head apologetically at Noodle. Without a word they both knew where 2D was headed, it was time for Noodle to brace herself and accept the impact.

Murdoc was beginning to lose whatever little patience he had, if there was one thing that he hated, it was being left out. Nobody snubs Murdoc Niccals, and I mean nobody. He stormed up to Russel, looking less-than-intimidating in only his underwear. Once he was face to face with the drummer he began to yell into the small amount of space between them.

"Look 'ere Lards! Someone betta' tell me wots goin' on! Yer 'ear me? This is my band! MY BAND!" He screeched in the middle of his tantrum. Russel took a deep breath and tried his hardest to be civil, for Noodle's sake. He simply walked away from the pair of them and into the kitchen, much to the surprise of Noodle and the annoyance of Murdoc. The bassist was quick on Russel's heels, he was not done yet, he wanted answers, now.

"I aint done with yer lards! Come back 'ere! Wots 'at?" Murdoc stopped to stare at the open bathroom door, catching sight of the black mess which occupied it. "Oh and yer can clear all tha' crap up for a start!" He called out in anger, frantically pointing his finger at the once white room. He didn't even give Noodle a second glace before he too disappeared into the kitchen.

Noodle let out a small sigh of relief, thought the slight moment of clarity offered her very little solace. She then remembered the oil which was now drying on her palms. She made a quick b-line for the bathroom, but her actions were a second too late, she hadn't taken note of the lift which had now arrived in the study. She froze as the sound of the doors opening reached her ears. With one hand on the door frame, her body had refused to move yet again, she all of a sudden realised how alone she was. She could still hear the bickering from Murdoc and Russel in the kitchen, she wanted them there with her, she couldn't face 2D alone.

The sound of the singer's shaky breaths was the next thing that Noodle was able to register, along with his heavy footsteps on the study floor. An unknown force from deep inside her core forced her to turn and face him. She was a woman now; it was time for her to take responsibility for her actions.

When her jade orbs fell onto him, she suddenly lost the ability to form any comprehensive words. He was a mess, more so than he had been before. His black eyes seemed even more hollow; his skin contrasted them beautifully as it was now almost white. He looked almost ghost like. His expression was empty, as if he didn't know how to react, if Noodle didn't know any better, she would have guessed that he was completely vacant. But _her_ oil soaked beret in his firm grip told her that he fully understood what was going on. The singer didn't seem to be focusing on anything in particular as he began to attempt to walk further into the room using the wall to help steady himself.

Noodle sharply inhaled when she noticed that he was coming towards her. She shouldn't be afraid of him, the 2D who she had grown to love over the years would never do anything to hurt her, the thought wouldn't even cross his simple mind. But before her was somebody else, somebody she didn't even recognise, it scared her. He still pushed forward until he was only a foot or so away, Noodle stood her ground, running from him would only cause more problems than it would solve. He finally looked at her, as soon as their eyes connected, his lip began to tremble and he felt all the strength he had quickly deteriorate.

"S-She's…dead, N-Noodle…." Was all he could muster up the will to say. Noodle felt her heart sink immediately at the tone of his voice. It truly saddened her that she had caused this much pain to be inflicted on him. On impulse she went to embrace him, thought the voice of her conscience told her that her actions where to comfort herself rather than the singer. Midway through her movement she was halted by 2D's sudden change of expression. Instead of the anguish which had previously displayed itself, she was met by a slight scowl as he narrowed his eyes, shifting his focus downward. He quickly had a tight grip on her wrists and he lifted her hands up so that they were easier to see.

"Wots this?" He questioned in a slightly aggressive manner. Noodle's eyes suddenly widened, how could she forget the oil stains, the evidence? She desperately began to struggle away from his grip. "Noodle!" He yelled out. "Wot the fuck is this?" The pieces taking a little longer to fall into place than usual. Partly because he was a dullard after all and partly because he couldn't quiet believe that his little love would even consider doing something so violent.

Noodle squirmed against the singer's harsh hold on her arms. Her struggle only caused him to become even more aggravated. Out of nowhere he took charge and shoved her against the wall. She let out a small yelp of pain and tightly shut her eyes to avoid his intense glare. In any other situation, she would be ecstatic about the closeness in proximity that they were sharing, but now, she couldn't think like that, he was not himself. He leaned his face so that it was closer to hers; it was an unwelcome breach of her personal space.

"Is tha' oil Noodle?" His voice still carried the shaky tones as his hurt mixed with his anger. "Did yew kill 'er?" He asked calmly, thought it was hard to keep his cool as the young woman in front of him refused to answer and attempted to shut him out. Noodle couldn't find her voice, the will to speak had been drained from her body, she faced the floor and accepted the overwhelming urge to cry. Her tears were as good of a reply that the singer was ever going to get, as far as he was concerned, she had admitted to her crime.

"Why?" He eventually chocked out in a heartbroken half-sob. She still refused to answer; instead she carried on crying causing him to become even more frustrated at her unresponsive state.

"WHY?" He quickly let go of one of her wrists and slammed his free hand into the wall, only and inch or so away from where her head was. The closeness of his blow was enough to make the guitarist scream out in shock. She finally opened her eyes to look at him in horror. She blinked and continued to stair into his back voids, she could hardly recognise the once carefree Stuart Pot who she left behind.

As if the realisation of his actions punched the wind right out of him, 2D flinched back, creating distance been Noodle and himself. He let go if her arm equally as swiftly. He was then shocked to find himself being restrained by the large drummer as he saw Murdoc head in Noodles direction, barely even glancing at the singer.

"Ya okay baby-girl?" Russel called out from behind 2D.

The guitarist shakily nodded her head, still unable to find the ability to form words.

The immediate confusion of the situation had begun to ware off as the vocalist realised that Noodle's scream must have alerted their two other band mates. 2D began to struggle against Russel's hold on him, he knew he was no match for the drummer but a serge of rage from an unknown origin suddenly threatened to manifest. 2D had never acted in such a way before. His sudden fit of aggression had terrified all three of them. Russel, still struggling to restrain the singer, spoke calmly.

"'D, ya need ta cut this out. This aint you man. Whatchu gonna do, hit her? 2D just stop for a second and look!" To their surprise the singer stopped his protest to observe the scene around him. Russel continued. "Look 'D, it's our Noodle-girl, ya wouldn't do anythin' ta hurt her would you. Ya aint yourself right now 'D. I know your hurtin real bad, but we're here now, yo friends are here. We wonna help ya."

It took a while for Russel's wise words to sink in. Once they did the singer's legs began to buckle under his own weight. He let out an agonising cry as he mourned the loss of his substitute. It was then that Murdoc finally caught wind of what had really happened. He let out an outraged gasp and immediately began to stomp his feet, furious at the actions of his band mates. Russel's white eyes rolled at yet another one of Murdoc's self absorbed tantrums.

"Cut it out Muds, we really don't need yo shit right now!" Russel's warning came out more viciously than he intended, the impact seemed to sting the bassist as his ego took the blow. He hated being shown up by anyone, the last time Russel had knocked him off of his pedestal, it caused him to walk out on the band. He lifted his arms in the air in defeat, as he furiously left the room.

"Fuck you lards!" He grunted as he exited the study.

Noodle still gazed at the singer, who was now being supported by the large drummer. Russel was attempting to console the younger man whilst still being cautious of any more sudden outbursts. 2D had now retreated to a cowering form on the floor, muttering broken syllables and letting out sobs of distress every so often.

Feeling her heart ache at the sight of him, Noodle made a swift move to go and comfort the singer, convincing herself that if he knew of her feelings for him he would be able to see clearly again. However, as she got closer he quickly stumbled away from her, breaking free from Russel. Noodle attempted to get closer to him again but his arms shot out in defence.

"Get away from meh! I hate yew!" He called out bitterly to her.

"What?" She flinched back slightly as if his words had stabbed straight through her heart. She nervously glanced back at Russel, who was just as horrified by 2D's painful words.

"Yew 'eard me, I hate yew!"

* * *

_The confession of Stuart Pot._

Did I really hate her? That's a question I've asked myself a thousand times now. I never really thought about whether there was any truth behind my words when I said them. To be honest, it just kinda came out; I just wanted to say something that would hurt her. I know, I'm sick right?

I couldn't quiet understand why I wanted to hurt her, I guess that for a moment, my twisted mind told me that I wanted her to feel the pain which I had felt. She had so selfishly ripped my whole world apart when she arrived here; I just wanted her to know what that felt like.

God, I am sick. I'm starting to sound like Murdoc.

The cyborg, she was my savoir; I know that it wasn't a smart move; I know that it was unhealthy, but she made me feel good. I could pretend that she was real; I could convince myself that I was happy, and that blissfully unaware shallow happiness was what got me through. Don't get me wrong, I would have done anything to get my old Noodle back, but that girl who arrived here a few weeks ago wasn't my Noodle. She was someone else, not the girl I mourned for.

I didn't trust her, I didn't trust any of them, all they seemed to want to do lately is hurt me. They cut me deeply with their words, telling me that I was crazy, telling me that I was delusional, maybe I was, I just didn't care anymore. So I avoided them. I avoided any form of communication, I cut them off completely.

This time spent on my own was used to mourn the loss of the cyborg, the pain had dulled surprisingly quickly into the familiar numbness that I used to feel. Russel tried to convince me that the reason was because I didn't really love her. I'm not sure whether to believe him, for all I know, he still could be reeling from his own mental breakdown…_hypocrite_.

It's been a few weeks since they turned up at Plastic Beach. Russel currently occupies the floor below mine and Noodle was moved into the lighthouse. I guess that Murdoc just wanted to Russel to keep an eye on me and Noodle to be as far away as possible, I don't blame him though, after the way I acted that night, Russel was right, it wasn't me.

I can't even begin to explain what happened, it was if someone else took over, I didn't even stand a chance of stopping them. Of coarse I didn't want to harm her, I'd never dream of doing that to anyone, let alone Noodle. But there was this booming voice in my head and all it wanted to do was hurt her, it kept demanding control of my body and it took every ounce of strength I had to keep it at bay.

And that voice is getting louder.

It taunts me daily, telling me things that I don't want to hear, telling me that they all hated me, that I was a burden on them and that their lives would be much simpler without me. It offers me my pills, saying that if I took enough I could just fade away and never have to deal with any of this pain anymore. It's getting so much harder to resist it's temptation to just let go and fall into the darkness, let the emptiness of the void consume me. I'm trying to hold on, I really am. But it threatens me; it says that if I don't comply, it'll hurt her.

I guess it was the voice that lead me to start my obsession.

As much as I avoided the others, I couldn't avoid Noodle. I became fascinated with her, she had changed so much. It's true, she wasn't the girl that I had locked in my memory, I resented that fact, but this new Noodle was something so much more complex, something so much more beautiful.

Whenever I saw her now, I couldn't help but become fixated with her. I still didn't trust her but she managed to draw me in somehow. I'd find myself secretly watching her movements from the corner of my eye. The voice would then start, telling me that I wanted her, in the worst possible way. It told me that I wanted every part of her to be mine, that her beauty should only be for me, that I should be the only one to see her, to admire her. It threatened that if I resisted it anymore, it would take her away from me, just as she had been taken away before.

The voice was beginning to find ways to have complete control over me. One day, I slipped up. I wasn't prepared for its sudden attack, I couldn't defend myself from the darkness and as a result, it took over my body, just as it had done that night. It dragged me kicking and screaming to the lighthouse, to Noodle. I begged for it to stop, I didn't want to hurt her. But my cries were contained inside the cage of my own messed up mind. On the outside I was composed, cool and calm; you wouldn't even be able to see the hint of my inner conflict if you let your eyes fall onto me.

I ascended the steps to reach her room, hearing my own heart pounding in my ears, anticipating while at the same time dreading what my next actions would be. I carelessly strolled into her room as if I had the right to be there. I was relieved that she didn't appear to be anywhere in sight, after all, if the voice couldn't find her, It couldn't do anything to her.

But my relief was short lived, the sound emitting from her bathroom told me she was there. I willed my limbs to move, to just leave, begging them to comply with my demands. Instead that damn voice took control and forced my body to the bathroom with ease. I realised my violation of her privacy and attempted to fight off my insanity once more, but I was in too deep, the darkness was unstoppable.

She froze as soon as she saw me. She was just getting out of the shower; luckily she had managed to cover herself with the safety of a towel. But it wasn't her lack of clothing that struck me the most, it was her vulnerability. I don't think I've ever seen Noodle with all of her defences lowered; she's always been one of the strongest people in my life. Even when she was crying her heart out, she always held back something to protect herself. But now here she was, as vulnerable as ever, as beautiful as ever.

I attempted to force myself to apologise and leave but it was no use. The voice started chanting again, telling me that I still wanted her, for a second, I could have believed it. I mentally kicked myself; there was no way in hell I was going to let it take advantage of this current situation.

Noodle glared up at me, she obviously had no idea of the conflict in my head, I'm glad she didn't, if she could hear the voice, she would be repulsed by the vulgar things it was telling me to do. It was clear that she was intimidated by my presence, there was no doubt that she felt exposed in her current attire, but I feared that she was still afraid of me. We hadn't resolved what had happened that night, to be honest I didn't know how to.

That unknown force took a hold of me again, forcing me to advance to where she stood. She flinched back at my sudden movement towards her. I felt as if I was some vicious predator cornering it's pray. She moved back further so that her back made contact with the bathroom wall, the cool temperature of the tiles meeting the warmth of her skin. Though her expression was different from the one I had saw that night, yes, there was still a great amount of fear in her emerald eyes, but there was something else, she seemed to be encouraging me, willing me to get closer to her. Maybe it was the darkness distorting my vision, clouding my judgment so that I could only see what I wanted to see.

I continued forward, until I was close enough to reach out and touch her. I noticed her tense up as I lifted my arm up to place my hand on her shoulder. I expected her to run, to struggle against me, but she stayed, she accepted the contact. In hindsight, I'm glad that she did, I feared that the beast within me, controlling my movements would get violent if she had rejected my presence.

An unusual moment of clarity came to me when I felt her skin underneath my palm; it was as if her touched soothed my current state. I've only ever felt this strange feeling of calm once before, back when she first arrived here and I felt her heartbeat under my hand. There was something in her touch which freed me from my demons, which drowned out the voice. For a shot period I seemed to have regained control of my movements, though for some reason, I didn't walk away like I should of.

She kept her eyes connected to mine, her breathes were uneven, as were mine. I raised my other hand and placed it on her opposing bare shoulder. She took a sharp intake of breath as I moved one hand across her skin to the curve of her neck. She moved away from the wall slightly, edging closer to me, willing me to continue. My hand then found its place on her cheek, cupping one side of her face. My head tilted down slightly so that the space between us was kept to a minimum. I was so close that I could clearly hear her uneven breaths as she stayed still. I admired her beauty for a moment too long and suddenly became freaked out by my own actions. Whilst I still had this limited control over my own mind, I used whatever will power I had left to quickly turn and leave her room as quickly as possible. I feared that the darkness may return and cause me to become unpredictable again. I could only faintly hear her calling after me, pleading for me to come back. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't risk it; I couldn't risk her well being for my own selfish desires.

After our encounter I made a vow to never let my own demons get out of control again. So I kept my distance and continued with my twisted voyeuristic ways, watching her when she didn't know. It was best that way. However I underestimated how much power the voice had over me. The third time it took over me was by far the worst. It came without warning whilst I innocently sat in the study. I clocked her entrance almost immediately, though I'm unsure if she knew that I was there.

I silently watched as I saw her form slip gracefully into the studio. The voice in my head screamed something incomprehensible, but it was enough for me to succumb to. I let it take control of me again. I found myself following her, I watched in horror as I appeared to have no control over my actions. I calmly opened the studio doors and nonchalantly walked in, locking the door to trap us both inside.

* * *

_O_O…Yeah…looks like their both in trouble…oh to be sinister *evil laugh*_

_Now I know I'm supposed to love my work and everything, the fact is, I just didn't like this chapter, my writing seemed really off, I don't know how to explain it._

_*Awaits another lecture from __**Wordwryhta**__* _

_Regarding updates: I'll post a date for the next chapter on my profile when I know how long it will take, just like I did with this one._

_Hey, you made it to the bottom of this long ass chapter, now your here it would be a waste of time if you didn't click on that little review button wouldn't it?_


	5. Into The Void

_A/N: Soooooo the On Melancholy Hill video got leaked a day and a half early…how about that…_

_Moving on, wow! 15 reviews for the last chapter, people you have outdone yourselves! __**: **_**Wordwryhta****, Rei4, Jordan, ****Beyond-The-Limit**** , Erin, ****Midnight Sanctity****, ****your wrost nightmare****, ****TheyUsed2D****, maura, ****WeirdsBestFriend****, ****Nicky-Rockit****, ****5islovesaidkittifreak**_**, **_**Zomby****, ****Ian St. George**_and_** anon. **_Thanks everyone for their support on this story. You guys are my motivation to keep writing, it's kinda daunting though because I don't want to let anyone down. Did I mention that I love you? I do!_

_I just want to take some time to thank _**Wordwryhta**_**. **__Seriously her reviews have helped me out so much with this story. She's an amazing writer so check out her work._

_Also a special shout out for _**Ian St. George**_! Another supporter who leaves me wonderful reviews with each chapter _

**TheyUsed2D**_Ya better be carrying on with your story!_

_Okay__…ass kissing over. I'm getting mixed reactions as to what 2D's motives where at the end of the last chapter, tbh I don't even think he knows what he's gonna do. Oh yeah, this chapters gonna get dark. I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter too, so that hopefully explains the delay._

_Omg, just realised something__…no Russel or Murdoc in this chapter, not forgot about them, honest._

_Disclaimer:__ Unfortunately Gorillaz belong to Damon and Jamie…I may have to do something about that… _

_

* * *

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5. Into The Void

_"We can only fall so far until the darkness of the void consumes us entirely"_

For as long as she could remember, Noodle always felt at home in a recording studio. She could find a strange source of solace in a studio, some form of shelter. Noodle figured it was because when she first arrived in England, the whole world around her seemed so foreign, she seemed so lost. She couldn't understand a word of English so she turned to music, it was the universal language. The medium of melodies helped her to avoid getting lost in translation and made this big, bad, world seem less daunting. It was through the music that Noodle got to know her band mates, her family.

Murdoc's bass lines were usually strong and prominent, more than often they were harsh and heavy and in your face, much like the man himself. Russel's drumming was usually the backbone, often his beats were a gentle accompaniment to the overall melody, but when the time was right, Russel could bang out a beat that would stop anyone in their tracks. Then there was 2D… it took her a while to figure him out. Given recent events though, she wasn't sure if she had even understood him in the first place. 2D, he was just so melancholy.

Melancholy…that was the perfect way to describe him; it was his favourite word after all. He seemed to be so happy with anything and everything life threw at him, never taking anything for granted and never taking anything too seriously. Yet there was always a deep sadness that seemed to be hidden somewhere in the depths of his soul. Behind his toothless grin, yet still embedded in his soulful voice. On a rare occasion, she would be able to catch a glimpse of it when she peered into his black eyes. That was one of the many aspects that drew her to Stuart Pot, she wanted to dive deep into his soul and confront his unhappiness. She wanted to fight it off and give him true inner peace. She wanted to protect him from any harm, be it physical or mental. She dreamed of the day when his smiles would be genuine, when they'd be for her.

Noodle found herself quickly drift back to reality as she let her hands wonder over the vast masses of recording equipment in the Plastic Beach studio. She let out a saddened sigh as she still couldn't get used to this place, it just didn't feel right, not like Kong. She let her eyes skim over the clutter which was scatted around the room, that's Gorillaz for you, always comfortable in clutter. She slowly wandered around the space, her eyes admiring the almost educational heap of crap which Murdoc had impressively thrown together in a short amount of time. She smiled slightly as her hand glided over a keyboard, her fingers moved on their own to play a soft melody which she couldn't quiet recognise, yet it sounded so familiar. Noodle became lost in the sound that she almost missed the soft click emitting from the door behind her.

She suddenly snatched her hand away from the instrument as she took a second to recognise the sound. Her heart rate sped up as she attempted to figure out who was behind her. She didn't turn to face him; she already knew that it was 2D. Murdoc and Russel where away from Plastic Beach, something about trying to make peace with some pirates or Murdoc coughing up the cash for some prostitutes, she wasn't really listening. However her thoughts were far from her other two band mates now, they were focused on the ever nearing presence behind her of a man who she hoped to call Stuart Pot, but she wasn't really sure who he was anymore.

She was a little surprised that he was making such a bold move as to approach her. They hadn't shared even the slightest form of contact since their last encounter in Noodle's bathroom. She had taken note that the singer had virtually bend over backwards just to avoid her since then, after all, 2D was never one for confrontation.

Her mind kept skipping back to that day, over and over. She remembered the feeling of vulnerability which ran through her blood; she remembered how close his body got to hers and how little material was covering her skin and how confused that made her; she remembered the feel of his breaths, so close to her face. But the thing which haunted her the most was the hollow, empty look in his eyes. She knew instantly that the person invading her privacy was definitely not the same person she had grown up with. She blamed herself for that.

His behaviour had become even more unpredictable and out of character since she had destroyed the cyborg. It was as if she had caused something to detonate inside the singer. His unstable mindset was clearly concerning, maybe he was dangerous. She shook her head slightly at the thought; 2D would never do anything to hurt her, never, that was a fact. But…that wasn't 2D in the room with her. Maybe she should leave…

She was too late.

Noodle flinched as she felt his hand softly touch her arm, still unsure as whether or not to retaliate; she stayed still, letting him have the freedom before deciding what his motives were. She shuddered slightly as his fingertips lightly ran down her arm to reach her wrist. She smiled as her eyes closed; she loved the feel of his skin on hers, it was still a novel enough sensation to cause a deep fluttering inside her chest and a light blush to creep across her pale face. However her short bout of serenity soon turned on her as she noticed his grip on her wrist become increasingly tighter.

She let out a small gasp of surprise and pain as he violently spun her around to face him. Her jade eyes once again met by his soulless black ones, as she had feared, another unknown force had taken control of Stuart Pot. A look somewhere between rage and amusement crossed his face. That face that she had grown to love was now something she deeply feared. She hastily made an attempt to regain her arm; this only caused his strong hold to become even tighter. She didn't even know he had such strength within him, then again, she also didn't expect him to harbour so much aggression.

In a desperate attempt to defuse the situation with both of their well being in tact, Noodle made a move to leave again. She attempted to simply brush past his shoulder and leave, despite him still having a tight clasp on her opposing wrist. However, her docile escape attempt was futile as he acted with unexpected speed. She attempted to move but he was already a step in front of her. He used his unoccupied hand to grab her free arm. Before she even had a chance to react, she had found herself forcefully slammed back into the wall. She winced out in pain as a dull ache slowly creped up her spine from the sudden contact with the harsh surface.

She again attempted to shift from her painful position but found herself being unnecessarily restrained by the singer. Realising that she might actually be in danger, adrenaline began to kick in as Noodle struggled with all her will against his aggressive hold on her. She finally freed one arm and used it to retaliate. She quickly carried out the motion of slapping it across his face with brute force. She winced slightly at the large red mark which now began to creep across his face. Her shock at her own attack, however, was her downfall as she let her defences slip for a second. The possessed form of 2D used her breach in defence to his advantage as one of his hands found its place with a firm grip around her neck.

Noodle flinched again as she tightly closed her eyes, waiting for him to start strangling her. This was it; this was how she was going to die, by the hands of the man she loved. She silently prayed inside her head, saying goodbye to her loved ones, forgiving 2D for his actions, she knew that this wasn't him.

Noodle couldn't help but peek as to see what was delaying the life being chocked out of her. She could still feel his hand resting at the top of her chest, his firm hold on her throat had softened slightly yet he still had a grip on it. She then noticed his arm trebling and a look of agonising pain embedded in his features. His eyes were tightly closed as he gritted his teeth.

"Who are you?" Noodle choked out in a half sob of disbelief. The urge to cry had suddenly crept up inside her.

2D didn't answer; instead he continued to tremble as a vicious battle over the control of his body raged within the singer's head. An immense pressure began to kick in as he found it harder and harder to regain control. He couldn't allow his demons to win, he couldn't risk it. The pain grew rapidly as the voice struggled to hold its power over him.

Noodle, who was well on her way to becoming hysterical, noticed that his restrain on her had weakened and that she was now free to move. She should have used the momentary freedom to escape and run as far away from him as possible. But her heart wouldn't allow it; she could never leave him when he needed her the most, despite it being a risk to her safety. She had run away before when things got too hard, that's what started all of this. Instead she moved her hand up to meet his which still rested by her neck. His grip had loosened enough for her to take a hold of it and guide it away from her body. She moved his hand down to their side and interlocked her fingers with his. She then took her other hand and raised it up to rest it on the side of his face. Her floods of tears had temporarily subsided as she regained the ability to form words.

"2-…Stuart…look at me please." She let out a soft plea in a small voice which was still strained. She had noticed that his expression of pain still hadn't been relieved and he began to tremble more violently. Noodle quickly let go of his hand and place her own on his opposing cheek and brought his face closer to hers. She began to speak again, cautious of the reaction her words may provoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything that I've put you through. I may never be able to make up for it but I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying. You have my word on that Stuart, but right now, I need you to come back from this. This isn't you." She felt as if in a twisted way she was preaching to him, attempting to exercise his tormented soul. Though her promise was true, she was going to stand by him no matter what, she was determined to rebuild Stuart Pot.

2D's eyes eventually fluttered open. He still couldn't see clearly as he squinted through the pulsing pain running through his entire body. He managed to focus his vision slightly on the young woman before him, she was as good enough reason to keep fighting his violent alter ego. As soon as Noodle's eyes connected with his black ones once again, she could instantly recognise his kind, tender disposition shine through. The guitarist was partly relieved by his reawakening, yet partly disturbed by the sudden heat radiating from his face.

The singer only managed to choke out the first syllable of her name before he let out an agonising cry. His legs began to buckle from underneath him as he lost all balance. His tall, lanky frame was too much for her petite body to support. The impact of his fall caused them both to topple to the floor with a harsh thud.

Noodle hissed out in pain as the impact had caused her face to come into contact with the edge of a small table. Her cheekbone had slammed against its metal frame causing a deep flush of purple to instantly creep around the area of her right eye. On instinct, she attempted to touch the affected area and let her fingertips examine the damage, however she was not granted such a privilege as she found her limps tangled with those of 2D.

She instantly shifted herself closer to him to make sure that he hadn't suffered such a mishap as she had. Still held prisoner by his limp form though, she found it increasingly harder to move. Noodle eventually managed to free both of her arms. She immediately used her new freedom to attempt to steady 2D, his unresponsive state was staring to worry her. She lifted the top half of her body up as his slouched posture still trapped her legs. The guitarist began to lightly shake his shoulders to gain his attention. In return she gained a hardly audible grunt which escaped his mouth.

Noodle pulled him towards her slightly as she became aggravated with his resistance to respond. She now had a tight grip on his arms as she attempted to shift him from his slouched position on the floor. However without the use of her legs, she underestimated her lack of balance and the back of her torso quickly made yet another acquaintance with the floor. She fell back with a thud, unexpectedly pulling the blue hared singer along with her. She immediately threw her arms up in front of her to stop him from crushing her.

She was surprise to find that he had awakened from his trance like state and swiftly acted before her. He now hovered parallel to her, supported by his strategically placed hands at either side of her head. She regained his eye contact once more as a precaution to determine whether or not he was dangerous. To her relief his expression was much softer and relaxed, however his previously hollow eyes now carried a flash of panic and concern.

Noodle turned her head away from him slightly in embarrassment as she noticed that his focus seemed to be centred on her new bruise. She attempted to shift her damaged face further away from him but was stopped when she felt his hand make light contact with her face. She instantly turned back to face him again as she let his lingering fingertips glide softly over her discoloured skin. Even his sensitive touch was enough to cause a small, sharp sting to occur, however she didn't react, she didn't want to scare him away. She sucked up the pain and enjoyed the tenderness they were both sharing.

It was these rare moments of tranquillity that gave Noodle hope. Since she had arrived at Plastic Beach, both of their experiences had been extremely unpleasant. But it was these small occurrences when there seemed to be a complete mutual understanding between the two of them that made the whole ordeal seem worth while.

2D couldn't take his eyes off the dark purple stain in Noodle's skin. He was still slightly confused since he had regained control of his body, the last thing that he could recall was the pain surging through his entire being, desperately attempting to force him to surrender. He then awoke as he almost came crashing down onto Noodle's tiny frame, only just cushioning his blow by quickly darting his arms out to catch his fall. He couldn't help but become increasingly concerned as to how they got in this situation, why was she underneath him? Why was she out of breath? And most disturbingly of all, how did that mark appear on her face?

"_I did that" _The voice mocked. 2D quickly pulled his hand away from her face as he flinched back in disgust. He didn't, did he? He couldn't have, he would never, would he? "_And I can do a lot worse" _The voice cackled deeply in his ear. Giving in to the threat once again, he made a move to get up and leave, he couldn't let anything else happen, not when they were both so vulnerable. He straightened out his arms so that the lonely space between their bodies grew.

Noodle though, had other plans; maybe it was the selfish greed of lust that forced her body to act involuntary. She was sick of their closeness being cut short. The events that had occurred in the recording studio that day had been so intense, so dramatic, she wasn't about to let him leave without some sort of conclusion. She arms moved to his sides as she tightly grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt and defiantly pulled him back closer to her.

The singer quickly turned back to her in surprise, he raised a questioning eyebrow as he couldn't quiet figure out what was happening. Maybe the situation wasn't as bad as he first assumed it to be, maybe she wanted this. Instead of denying her, he gave in to her actions. It was his own weakness too though, he had to admit to himself that he wanted this contact too. As much as he vowed to protect Noodle from the effects of the darkness, there was only so much that he could refrain from.

Noodle took a deep breath as she felt his gentle touch return to her face, again 2D's hand lingered on her damaged skin. She kept eye contact with him, silently willing him to continue through her unfazed gaze. His fingertips then slowly glided down to brush over her lips. She opened her mouth slightly to take in a sharp intake of air as a reaction from the sensations that were now burning through her entire body. After the singer didn't respond for a moment, she took the initiative and let her hands shift to his back as she slowly pushed him towards her. He complied by lowering himself so that there was a mere inch between them, maybe less.

Noodle let her eyes flutter closed as she felt his lips contact with hers for only a second. The welcome sensation was painfully cut short as the singer quickly jolted back and stumbled to his feet.

"_We've got her exactly where we want her now."_ The voice had spoken yet again, setting a painful reminder of what it was capable of. 2D back away from her, his cowering form was slowly edging into the corner of the room. He griped either side of his head in agony as the pressure began to build up again, the voice was battling for control once more.

The young guitarist has also quickly made it to her feet once she noticed his unusual retreat. She winced as she saw the expression of pain creep back up over his face. On impulse she quickly made a move towards him but he shot one arm out to keep her away from him. He then managed to regain her eye contact.

"N-Noodle…yew need ta go!" He wheezed out in his frail voice.

"No! I can't leave you like this!" She protested in her usual defiant mannerism. She moved closer still.

"Go! Please"

"I can't"

"Go!"

"But I lov-"

"GO!" his final threat was his last one. The darkness had temporarily regained control, well of his right arm at least, as he forcefully shoved her away. She fell backwards, hitting various objects in the process. She cried out in pain as she saw a patch of blood slowly forming on one of her arms. Her focus quickly shifted from her injury back to the man towering over her. She glared up at him in fear and disbelief.

2D silently stared back at her with the same expression. The hardest concept to grasp was that he had launched such as vicious attack out of his own free will. His condition was getting worse. He had no choice but to quickly back away and sprint for the door, fumble with the lock and leave as quickly as possible.

This left Noodle heartbroken, confused and aching all over.

* * *

2D stumbled into his underwater prison, which had ironically become his sanctuary now. He slammed the door, hoping that nobody would come down there after him. What would Russel and Murdoc do to him if they found out about his attack on Noodle? They would be livid, they wouldn't even give him a chance to explain, they would surely beat whatever pathetic ounce of life he had left out of him.

His hands found their way into his bright blue hair as he began to frantically pull at it whilst marching around his room in pure panic.

He had let the voice win once again. It had warned him, it had threatened him, yet he simply ignored it and repressed its dull thud. But now, now that it had hurt his Noodle; he couldn't risk it any longer.

"_You do realise that you're a dullard only by choice don't you?"_

2D froze. The voice had spoken. However it's incessant noise was no longer coming from the echo in his head. It was emitting from somewhere in his room. He quickly snapped his head around to look in the direction of his disturbance. The voice had sounded different somehow, it was not longer an ear splitting buzz booming through his head. It was softer now and more defined, he could almost peg something familiar in it. But when he turned to face it, he was met by an empty space.

"_But that's just you all over isn't it?"_

It mocked him yet again. He shook his head to stop its effects. He suddenly found an urge to dose himself with his pills, in an attempt to drown out the noise with medication. The singer then turned in the direction of his night stand, hoping to find solace in those little green and white capsules. He made a jerky move to head in the direction of his bed.

Then he saw her.

The origin of the voice, the cyborg. His black eyes widened in fear and shock as he dropped to his knees. She sat nonchalantly on the edge of his bed, her usual wide, toothy gin plastered on. However, her once perfectly replicated face was now horrifically dented on one side; oil was still seeping from her _wound_, making prominent black tracks down her face and soaking the military garb which she was still dressed in.

"_You repress everything, don't you?"_ She scoffed mockingly. _"That's why I'm here isn't it?" _She continued, tilting her head to one side in a patronising way.

2D shook his head, not understand what she was trying to say. In fact, not listening to what she was trying to say.

"_Shut me out then, I'm not going to leave." _She rose to her feet and made a stride in his direction. Her movements were intimidating as she reached his kneeling form on the floor. She crouched down slightly to reach eye level. _"But unless you listen to what I have to say, things are going to get worse." _She threatened.

The singer turned his face away from her but was stopped when her hand came into contact with his jaw. She moved his face back to meet hers with ease. He returned her intense glare.

"_It's your fault you know." _She smirked at him_. "You never did quiet learn how to face up to things did you?" _She tilted her head to the side and sported a patronising pout. _"You, Stuart Pot, are a coward. You never did have the balls to address your problems. Instead you repress every little bad thing that happens to you." _She paused to let the information sink in_. _

_"Take Murdoc for example. You still harbour so much hatred for the man since he dented your face, yet you never exercised that hate, you just let it build up and fester inside. Then there was Paula, the woman broke your heart, but you never took the time to let out that anguish. You just pushed it down like everything else." _She then moved back and took a seat on his bed, tapping the space next to her as an invitation.

"_Then of cause there was Noodle. You shut everyone out after that didn't you? Russel tried to help, but you just turned him down as well. You know, he could have been your saviour."_ She continued to mock him as he grew increasingly uncomfortable.

"_That's when I came along, the voice inside your head, and after that, you could no longer repress anything." _She grinned, knowing that she was getting through. "_So, if you want me gone, you know what I want from you. Face up to your problems and actually do something."_

2D fumbled up from the floor and moved towards her. She then let her gaze shift to his nightstand and swiftly picked up his bottle of pills. She raised a challenging eyebrow to him.

"_Don't you think that their lives would be much simpler without you? Think about it, they wouldn't need to go through all of this effort of looking after you. And think of Noodle, she wouldn't have you suffer at your hands anymore." _2D's body tensed at the mention of Noodle, the cyborg smiled again at his reaction. _"I promise, I'll leave her alone if you do as your told." _She beckoned him closer, he complied and took his place by her side on the bed. She then tilted her head and placed his bottle of pills in his palms.

"_Now." _She started. _"Empty the bottle into you hand." _He stayed still, reluctant to comply with her demands. She egged him on._ "It'll be for the best, I promise." _The singer slowly unscrewed the cap and let the bottles' contents fall out. He then looked back at the cyborg, asking for conformation. She nodded eagerly.

He raised the handful up to his mouth and let the vast quantity of pills slide down his throat. The cyborg watched and continued to speak._ "It's okay, let the darkness in, that's all there is left now." _

2D's head became very heavy all of a sudden as he collapsed onto his bed. His eyelids slowly closed as the wariness took over.

She was right, there was only darkness now…

* * *

_..._

_A/N: In case i didn't make it very clear, the 'sadness' that Noodle was talking about at the beginning was actually 2D's repression, hope that makes sense._

_Thanks everyone so much for your incredible reviews, i almost feel bad for asking for more...I'm gonna do it anyway!_

_Oh review button, how you must long to be pressed._

_Thanks again everyone! xX  
_


	6. A Sweet Downfall

_A/N: Sorry for being late!_

_Who has the best reviewer's ever? _

_I DO! _**17**_ reviews for chapter 5! Imma just go and die happy now!_

**Rei4, ****5islovesaidkittifreak****, ****XxXAngelic-ChiiXxX****, ****Zomby****, ****MuffinaCa****, ****Wordwryhta****, Kristen-san, ****Rin Koorbloh****, ****Nicky-Rockit****, Jordan, ****Beatlemaniac1****, Kapra, ****TheyUsed2D****, ****Clow12391****, maura, ****your wrost nightmare** _and _**Ian St. George** _Good Karma is coming your way…now if only I believed in Karma :D Again, thank you all so much, I really enjoy reading all of your reviews, it's the best thing ever, makes the hard work worth while! Love you all._

_New chapter, new avatar! Yays, it's a pic that my friend took for her photography class, btw I hate having my photo taken so that explains the moody glare. Anyways she insisted that I used it as an avatar so…ta-da! Though I do miss my Damon and Jamie pic :C _

_Soooo, at the end of chapter 5 we finally found out what had messed up old Stu-pot, his repression. This chapter takes a look into what cause this to happen, be warned, there's gonna be so much time travel going on you'll think you're in a TARDIS…That's right, I went there…_

_I'll try to make this chapter a little clearer, if a section begins with ~#~ = present time (continuing from chapter 5)_

_Disclaimer: I own Gorillaz! No…no I don't :C damn you Damon and Jamie!

* * *

_

6. A Sweet Downfall

"_After a hard day…"_

"Blue! How can his bloody hair turn blue!" Rachel Pot jumped up from the seat next to her son; she almost launched an attack on the timid trainee doctor, who was unfortunate enough to be the one to break the bad news.

"I'm sorry Mrs Pot; we've never seen anything like this before." The doctor flinched back, holding his clipboard up in front of himself for protection. He swallowed a hard gulp at the sight of the woman's balled fists resting at either side of her hips. She let out a snarl in her fury, resembling a wild animal as her nostrils faired.

"This is your fault!" She raged, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "It was that bloody medication you gave him after his fall!"

"Mrs Pot, I assure you that would never happen. Stuart was only prescribed a course of painkillers. In fact, he's lucky that he hasn't suffered any brain damage." The doctor mustered the courage to defend himself from Rachel's rage. He made a stride in her direction but froze as the angered woman snapped her head up to face him.

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot!" She yelled, suddenly draining the young man of any courage he had managed to scrape together. "I've been a nurse for the past 10 years you moron! I know that hair doesn't turn blue from hitting your head! You've given him something! Look at him, he's a freak!"

The young boy flinched back as her harsh words scolded him. Before he had been dragged to the doctors by his mother, he had been overjoyed to find his hair growing back with an alluring teal shade. He spent a good hour prancing around in front of the bathroom mirror admiring the colour and pondering whether it meant that he now had developed super powers. He spent the next hour trying to figure out what they might be. But now, now he began to resent the colour. What if his mother was right? What if he was a freak? He let his azure eyes move to the floor and pulled his knitted hat back over his blue locks in protest.

The young Stuart Pot folded his arms over his chest as a defence mechanism and blocked out the remaining conversation, or to be more accurate, _heated debate_ between his mother and the doctor. His thoughts kept circling the word 'freak'; he began to experience a burning in his chest and a sting in his eyes as he fought back the urge to cry. He had never felt as self-loathing as he had that day.

The young boy jolted back to reality as he felt his mother's hand take a firm hold of his own, she pulled him from his seated position with much more force than was necessary and practically dragged him out of the room. Rachel stopped with her hand grasping the door handle when the doctor spoke again.

"Mrs Pot, you could always dye Stuart's hair as a last resort." He offered, with a glimmer of hope embedded somewhere in his terrified eyes. He offered her a small smile, praying that he hadn't been completely useless.

However the still enraged woman shot down his attempts as she scoffed at him "He's allergic to ammonia!" before she swiftly exited the doctors' office with her bewildered son in tow.

Rachel slammed the car door after her and let out yet another irritated growl before attacking the steering wheel in front of her. She then forcefully hit her forehead against the wheel and sighed heavily in defeat, her eyes closed as she began contemplating her options. Stuart sat in the passengers seat engaged in a staring contest with his feet, he was afraid that his mother's current rage would be turned on him, he was afraid that she'd blame him for this. He felt himself begin to well up again. The young boy somehow gathered the confidence to turn in his mother's direction and addressed her in a small voice.

"Mum? I'm a really a freak?" He asked timidly, afraid of her response.

Rachel jolted up from her resting position on the steering wheel and turned to face her son, her expression was relaxed and much softer, her eyes held deep sadness though.

"Of course not sweet heart, why would you ever think such a thing?" She asked, concerned.

"But yew said I wos." He chocked out as he was about to become overwhelmed with sobs.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it darling!" She quickly brought her hands to her mouth in shock as she remembered her outburst and it's affect on her young son. The last thing she wanted was for him to think anything low of himself, it was the reason why she had gotten so worked up in the first place. Of course he wasn't a freak, but Rachel knew too well how cruel other children could be when encountered with someone who was different, she only wanted to protect him from all of that, but instead, she had caused him more distress.

Stuart turned his face away from his mother, hoping that she wouldn't notice the fresh tears making unruly tracks down his pale face. "Do yew blame me?" he asked with a barely audible blub.

"Of course not sweet heart! It was my fault; I should have been watching you when you were up in that tree." She instinctively removed her seatbelt and reached over to her upset son, capturing him in a comforting hug. She wiped away his tears with her hand and pulled away slightly with a forced smile now on her face. "Just don't climb anymore trees monkey-boy" She laughed out in an attempt to lighten his mood.

"Nah! I'm not a monkey!" He protested whist displaying a look of mock disgust with his tongue sticking out. Rachel raised a questioning eyebrow to him.

"Then what are you?" She smiled.

"I'm a gorilla!" He stated with pride and began to pound his chest with his fists and make low pitched grunting noises, resembling the animal. His mother laughed and ruffled her hand through his vibrant hair.

"You sure are."

However the serenity and acceptance of that day was short lived for Stuart Pot. Little did he know that this was the start of his downfall, one which would end with catastrophic results.

Just as Rachel had feared, her son's striking change in appearance was not well received. On his return to school, Stuart became an outcast and a target. Many of the other children in his classes would keep their distance from him. They didn't understand his recent change in hair colour and many of them feared that it may be contagious. Even his friends turned their backs on him; they didn't want to be seen as the mates of the 'freak'. The only person who showed the slightest interest in him was a boy named Neil, another outcast who talked to worms and had a habit of invading personal space. He used to creep up on Stuart daily and vigorously rub his hands through his blue locks in hope that it would rub off onto himself.

But the pain of the loneliness was too much for young Stuart to handle, his exclusion played on his mind constantly. Why did everyone hate him? He was still the same good hearted boy that they had grown to love, yet now he seemed to be something they feared. Even though his mother would constantly attempt to lift his spirits, her actions were useless, as they did little to numb the pain.

That's when the migraines started. The young boy was harbouring so much depression and was unable to vent. This caused a pressure to build up in his head and would render him motionless from the intensity of the pain it would create. Rachel hated seeing her son in so much trouble, but every time she attempted to get through to him, he would shut her out. Eventually she stopped trying and found a strange peace of mind by supplying him with prescription painkillers. Even if she couldn't sooth his mental pain, at least she was helping him with his physical turmoil.

The painkillers then became an addiction.

The self-loathing which was still festering inside the young boy's mind caused him to become distracted from his school work. As a result, the seemingly bright Stuart began to fail the whole school curriculum miserably. After receiving his 10th fail in a row, he just stopped caring and never even attempted to correct his slipping intelligence. After all, if he ever felt anxious about it, he could always pop another pill.

That was how the boy transformed into the dullard. The voice was right; he was that way by choice.

* * *

~#~

Her screams had shaken him slightly.

His eyelids were far too heavy for him to attempt to open them; his limbs also seemed to have gained an incomprehensible amount of weight and refused to move. His body now an almost comatose state, he couldn't respond to her even if he wanted to. The pills had already begun to take effect, he was already slipping away. The feel of her tender touch on his skin was now replaced by a numb pressure.

2D could feel her attempt to lift him, but his heavy body was just too much for her to handle. He was glad though, that the last thing he would hear was her voice, even if she was in a complete state of panic and distress. His actions would hurt her, he knew that. But her hurt would soon fade and she would be better off without him. She would be able to live the life that she deserved, one without pain, without fear. He would only hold her back with his problems, she had so much potential, she could achieve so much without him.

His one regret was not telling her he loved her.

Noodle collapsed over the singer, her head resting on his chest as she desperately held onto his limp body. For the first time in her life, Noodle felt completely useless. There was nothing that she could do to save him now, she could only watch in horror as he slipped slowly away from her. Another wave of heartbreak and aguish ran through her body as she burst into tears again. It had taken her four years to grow and develop into the person she was now. But all of her hard earned progress seemed to disintegrate as she regressed into a child like state of pure uselessness. She sobbed harder, leaving a growing patch of wetness on 2D's t-shirt as she desperately clung to the fabric in desperation. She pressed her ear to his chest and could only just make out a faint, dying heartbeat.

"See lards! This is why yer don't live wiv girls, fuckin' shoes everywhere!"

A beaming beacon of hope in the form of a returning Russel and Murdoc spurred a new determination within the small guitarist. She jolted upright and gripped either side of the unconscious singer's face. She turned her head slightly to wipe off her tears on her shoulder before speaking in a shaky, strained voice.

"You're not leaving me yet!" She chocked out to him as a way of convincing herself that all was not lost. She then turned her head in the direction of the singer's bedroom door and screamed out in the loudest possible voice she could manage.

"RUSSEL! MURDOC! HELP!"

* * *

He screeched in horror when he first set his eyes on his mismatched reflection. His once beautiful blue eyes were now two terrifying black voids. The young man lowered his head to face the sink below the bathroom mirror. He tightly gripped either side of the porcelain basin and stared deeply into the drain, the emptiness of it reminded him of his new eyes; he could help but let out an inappropriate chuckle at the thought.

His laughter soon turned into an almost sob though when he lifted his head to face his dreaded reflection once again. He winced back in horror at the sight of his face. He looked like a monster, a lanky blue haired, black eyed monster. But there was nothing he could do about it; it was already the work of an arrogant Satanist who currently made himself comfortable in the room next door.

The horrified 19 year old suddenly felt a wave of anger run through his blood. His adrenaline began to kick in causing the hairs on his body to stand on end as he fought the urge to kick the door down and beat the older man into bloody submission. He clenched his fists tightly as a way to control himself. His arm acted as if on his own accord as he slammed a fist into the mirror, cracking the glass. Drops of warm crimson began to form on the white porcelain below, creating a beautiful contrast.

The man turned back to look at the mirror for a final time. Its broken structure resembling his current state. His striking features looked even more terrifying when trapped behind broken glass. The cracks caused his reflection to become distorted and unsymmetrical, but he preferred it that way, if he had the choice, he would have chosen to never look at himself in the mirror ever again.

He quickly snapped his head in the direction of the door as he heard the older man in the neighbouring room begin to shuffle around and groan in annoyance, he was becoming impatient. Stuart then lowered his eye line to look down at his still clenched fists. The though hit him, _what good would starting a fight solve?_ He finally relaxed his hands and began to take deep breathes. He wasn't a violent person, and besides, by the look of the dodgy Satanist, he would probably lose anyway.

His unattended bleeding knuckles now left a trail on the floor. He quickly captured his hand and wrapped a small towel around the wound whilst sighing at the mess he had made. Once again he pushed back his anger and hid behind his soft façade, _was he really going to let the sinister stranger off so easily? _He didn't really care anymore, another build up of pressure creped through his head, as a vicious migraine distracted him from his thoughts. His hatred of the world would just have to wait; he promised himself that he'd deal with it later, however his ever shifting attention caused him to break that promise.

He made a stride in the direction of the door and slowly pulled it open. He was greeted by the crooked grin of the green skinned Satanist. The older man then pointed at Stuart's collection of musical instruments and continued to grin with glee. He then spoke.

"Eh, Dents? 'ow are yer at singin'?"

* * *

~#~

2D's eyes shot open, though his vision was still distorted. He awoke to the dreadful taste of thick bile lingering in his mouth. He frantically attempted to shift from his position to get a better feel for his surroundings; however his limbs still refused to move. He could only guess what was going on through the medium of burred vision and distorted sounds. He all of a sudden noticed an uncontrollable heat burning through his body causing his skin to be coated in a sticky sweat.

The singer could only just make out the form of Russel Hobbs in front of him, holding something that mildly resembled a bucket and a bottle of questionable liquid. He shifted his eye line down to his body and noticed that his torso was now bare. He also noticed a pale arm draping over his right shoulder resting on the exposed skin of his chest, seemingly supporting him. The top half of his body was being propped up by Noodle, who was sitting behind him; her knees were parallel to either side of his hips as he rested his head back on her chest. She too noticed an intense heat radiating from his skin and softly placed a cool hand on his forehead.

The whole situation seemed fuzzy and surreal, almost like a dream. 2D began to wonder if this was all just a side effect from the overdose, that he was becoming delusional. However he was brought back to reality as he felt his gag reflex violently kick in causing him to tense up and jolt forward as he began to vomit. Russel had strategically placed the bucket in the line of fire just in time. The singer let out an exhausted groan at the bitter taste of bile lingered in his mouth again. His body returned to its weak and limp state as he fell back into the young guitarists' arms. The heat of his skin now became too much as he felt himself beginning to fade away into unconsciousness again. His body began to tense involuntarily as he began to violently shake.

Noodle clutched onto him desperately in an attempt to restrain his vigorous, unpredictable movements. She frantically lifted her gaze to reach Russel's and softly pleaded in a weak voice, trying her hardest to contain her sobs of despair.

"Russel! What's happening?" She was still restraining his jerky convulsions; her eyes began to overflow with tears as she began to be overtaken by fear. "Help him!" She screeched, panicking, her eyes began to frantically shift between the large drummer and the fading singer in her arms. She could feel his irregular heartbeat quicken underneath her trembling hands, his breathing becoming rapid and strained.

Russel quickly manoeuvred himself and kneeled down next to his band mates on the floor of Murdoc's bedroom. The three of them had managed to move the singer's limp body to the higher confines of Plastic Beach. Murdoc currently resided in his en suite, claiming that it was the only room in the strange structure which granted him a clear phone signal as he called for medical advice, though Russel knew it wasn't true. In reality, the bassist struggled with the situation and refused to take part in physically reviving the vocalist. Noodle didn't seem to notice the older mans absence; her attention was focused solely on 2D. However Russel clocked the bassist's actions and knew that the singer's drastic self-destruction had upset him. Murdoc was never one for showing his emotions.

Russel took a hold of the bottle of liquid in his large hand and unscrewed the cap. The substance was a pre-mixture of salt-water. He held the bottle to the singer's mouth whilst Noodle tried her hardest to keep him still. They hoped that the liquid would induce further vomiting and clear 2D's stomach of the pills he had ingested before they were fully absorbed into his system.

Noodle's tears were still bitterly stinging her face as she moved her head down so that her chin rested on his shoulder. She instinctively started whispering in the singer's ear as a way to calm him. She also freed a one of her hands and moved it up to his head, smoothing down his hair. Eventually the young man's fit had begun to subside to make way for his gag reflex to kick in again. He threw up, completely emptying his stomach of its contents.

They had done all that they could to help him now. Noodle shifted her gaze up to meet Russel's once again. He stared back, offering a false smile. Though inside he was terrified that they were too late, that the pills had already been digested and were already killing off the younger man. One thing he knew for certain was that they weren't out of the woods yet, not even close.

* * *

The front doors to Kong were slammed shut with so much force that the whole concrete structure practically shook at the impact. The blue haired vocalist stormed away from the building before falling to his knees a couple of feet short of the Pazuzu statue. He let out a loud wail of heartbreak as he attempted to come to terms with what had happened. His love, Paula, the woman of his dreams had betrayed him in the worst possible way.

He began to desperately clutch at his chest as he felt his heart began to ache with unbearable pain. His features now stained with his distraught tears, _how could she do this to him?_

Stuart Pot's life up till that point had been pretty unfortunate to say the least, yet he always dealt with whatever was thrown his way, he'd just push his problem to one side and carry on, leading his way through life with an empty smile. Then he met Paula, and with her, the days seemed a little brighter, his problems seemed a little further away and he didn't seem to harbour so much self-loathing anymore. But she had ruined that now, and all of the darkness returned; his doubts, his fears, his hatred were much stronger now. As if like clockwork, that dull, familiar pressure crept into his head.

2D looked down to the dusty floor below him, his pills were inside, he'd forgotten to grab them in his escape, there was not way in hell he was going back in there to retrieve them, migraine or no migraine. So, for the first time in his miserable life, he decided to ride it out, let the pain take over, see where it took him. He closed his empty eyes as the pressure began to cause his vision to distort; the blurred lines obscuring his view caused him to become nauseous. His hands rose to either side of his head as the pressure continued to mount, the pain doubling. He let out a stifled cry of agony as the dull thud in his ears became greater. He all of a sudden regretted his decision.

His battle had rendered him motionless; he couldn't retrieve his medication even if he wanted to. He was so caught up in his own head that he failed to notice the large drummer follow him outside. Russel cleared his throat to alert the younger man as he nonchalantly cracked the knuckles of his right hand and wiped Murdoc's blood from his fist.

2D was shaken from his inward fight when the drummer tapped him on his shoulder and passed the singer that small orange bottle of relief. He happily complied and quickly fumbled with the seal to release an unknown dose into his palm and into his mouth. After a few minutes, the pain subsided to the usual numbness, yet the deep pain in his chest continued to ache. He moved to sit down on the ground and continued to sniffle at his own wallowing heartbreak.

Russel panted his hefty form down on the floor next to the singer, he took a deep breath, not having the slightest idea about how to approach the younger man.

"Look 'D, her worthless ass was no good fo ya." He raised his hand to pat the vocalist on the back, however he did so with a little more force than was necessary and caused the singer to grunt with pain. "Sorry man!" The drummer quickly apologised and sighed, he was only making things worse.

"Ya know why she did it don't chu?" The singer raised his watery eyes to meet Russel's. "It's 'cause yo nice. 'D, your tha nicest guy I've ever had da privilege of meetin'!" He sent a beaming grin the younger mans direction.

"And people like Paula, they like nice guys, so that they can take advantage of 'em. I saw her 'D, pushin ya around. Yo ass was too head over heels ta see it, but it was there! Now you can see clearly 'D and kick her to da curb, she neva even deserved ya attention in da first place."

Russel sighed; hoping that his words somehow managed to ease some of the young mans suffering, though they both were well aware that there was a great deal of truth in the drummer's utterances. After a few awkward minutes of silence, Russel spoke.

"'D, talk to me man, it's not good fo you ta keep it all inside." He pleaded.

2D suddenly stumbled to his feet and wiped his face with his shirt sleeve. Russel was right, he was too nice, too many people had taken advantage of that. He wasn't about to let Paula and Murdoc get away with it. He made a heavy stride in the direction of Kong, gaining a little more confidence with each step he took.

"'D, hold up!" Russel called from behind him, struggling to match the singer's speed.

The vocalist stormed his way down the hallways of Kong, making his way towards his room in the car park. He pulled the white door open with force as he entered the room, preparing to face the woman who had caused him so much pain. However his sudden wave of confidence and anger was soon drained into pathetic desperation as he set his eyes on her. Paula was packing up her belongings with a look of disgust and humiliation playing on her features. She snapped her head up to face him and bit down on her lip in guilt.

"Why?" He whimpered, desperately attempting to keep his composure, he didn't want her to see him weak. But that was all he had ever known, he was never taught how to stand his ground. Even though Paula had broken his heart, he still couldn't bring himself to hate her, he was far too forgiving, his greatest downfall.

She refused to answer and continued to pack her belongings. She shook her head slightly as he made a stride in her direction. He continued his plea to her

"Why?"

"Oh for God's sake Stu, grow some fucking balls!" She snapped, in his direction. He stumbled back, clutching his chest; her bitter words hit him with a sting. She then zipped up her suitcase with a satisfied sigh before returning his glare.

"Why? I'll tell you why, because it was easy! Because I knew that you'd let me get away with it! Because you severely lack the passion or the brains to actually do something to prevent this! This is your fault!" She snapped at him with venom and bitterness. She opened her mouth to assault him further but was interrupted by a thick American accent.

"Goodbye Paula!"

The woman flinched back and blinked at the intimidating drummer as his form suddenly appeared in the doorway of 2D's bedroom. She let out a large sigh of annoyance as she grasped the handle to her baggage and forced her way passed 2D.

"Don't go!" He pleaded in a small, strained voice as she brushed passed his. However she ignored his helpless whimper and continued towards the door. Russel moved out of the way with a gesture of mock courtesy before giving her the middle finger as she left their lives. He then turned his white eyes to the broken singer, who stood motionlessly in his room staring into the empty space which Paula had occupied only moments before.

2D then took shaky, unstable steps to reach his doorway. He avoided any eye contact with Russel and placed his hand on the door. The drummer lifted one hand to the back of his head and sighed.

"C'mon 'D don't do this, talk to me please." However his attempts were useless as the young man simply pushed on the door causing it to slam shut.

* * *

~#~

"Two fuckin' days! We aint got two fuckin' days! He might be dead by then!"

Murdoc's shrill words fuelled Noodles crippling doubt as she held tightly on to the singer. She closed her eyes and let a few stray tears fall down her face. She hadn't let go of 2D since she discovered him in his underwater room. Since then she had been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as the fear of losing him forever burned deep within her chest.

"Oh for Satan's sake! I said point Nemo! Here me? N-E-M-O! Wot are yer a fuckin' child!" Murdoc raged down the phone to the emergency services. One of the downfalls of having a secret headquarters in the middle of the ocean was that it was the middle of the ocean.

Russel had begun to nervously shift around Murdoc's bedroom. He had been uneasy since the singer had lost consciousness again; there was nothing he could do to help now. The next 24 hours would be intense; they would have to keep a watchful eye over 2D. They had done all that they could and relieved his body of the excess medication. However, the majority of the pills had been released into his system. They would just have to hope that his body would be able to take the abuse and pray for the best.

Instead of returning to the morbid thoughts, Russel attempted to ease his attention away from the crippling uselessness which occupied his mind. The drummer gazed out of the large windows and sighed, never taking his eyes off the horizon.

"What happened baby-girl?" He questioned tenderly, not looking in Noodle's direction as he addressed her, fearing that if his white eyes contacted with her terrified green orbs, he too would break down. Russel had to keep them together, keep them calm, but first of all he needed to get to the truth behind 2D's overdose.

"What d-do you mean?" She asked in a strained voice from her position on the floor behind him.

"Well, fo a start, how did ya get that black eye?"

"He didn't hit me if that's what you think!" She retaliated bitterly; shifting her body to bring 2D's closer to her, as if she was protecting him from Russel's accusation. She propped him up more so that his head fell back onto her shoulder and she had a tighter grip on his body.

"I didn't say that." Russel spoke softly. "I know that 'D wouldn't do that." He sighed and turned to face her. "But we both know that 'D hasn't been himself lately baby-girl. I'll ask you again, what happened." He asked in a stern yet friendly register.

"I don't know!" She broke down into in fit of strained cries. "Why would he do this Russel? What would make him think that there was no other way, why would he give up?" She sobbed as she buried her face into the singer's blue hair.

Russel sighed in defeat. "I don't know baby-girl. That's somthin' only 'D knows."

* * *

"_And through all of the pain of the fall, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel_

_The reason for the pain, the cure for the ache, something that makes all of this worth while"_

"Who's this?" An eleven year old Japanese girl held up a photograph to the lanky blue haired singer sitting cross legged in the centre of his room. She continued to dance around, admiring his belongings, slurring out broken English whenever she found something of interest. 2D squinted up at Noodle and took the photograph from her grip. He took a few seconds to examine it and placed his hand on his chin.

"Tha's Paula, lil-love." He eventually murmured to her, reluctant to let his bad memories cloud his time with Noodle. The young girl swooped to the floor next to him and examined the picture. She attempted to say the name aloud and it took her a few tries to pronounce it correctly. "That's right!" 2D smiled and ruffled his hand through her hair in admiration. He was impressed that she could pick up English so easily.

Noodle then turned away from the photograph to face 2D she knotted her eyebrows in a slight scowl. "Who's Paula?" She questioned. The singer thought hard for a moment, wondering how he could word the situation so that she could understand it. He placed the picture face down on his floor, not wanting to look at Paula's face anymore. The then took a deep breath and spoke.

"She's someone I used to love." He stated plainly. Noodle scowled further, not understanding what he meant.

"Why do you not love her anymore 2D-san?" She began to get worked up and slightly upset. "Russel-sama said love is f-forever." Noodle turned to face the carpet as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. 2D noticed her anguish and instinctively wrapped his lanky arm over her small shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze.

"Hey lil-love, don't cry." He moved his other hand to her face and softly brushed her tears away. "It's jus' 'ow life is, people fall out of love." He rocked her gently from side to side in an attempt to calm her down from her distress. He hated seeing Noodle cry, she was always such and optimistic child, loving her life every day because she was seemingly unfazed by the amount of crap that life would throw at her. 2D admired that about her, and was slightly envious that she had the ability to deal with heartbreak and sorrow so well.

The small guitarist sniffled and stopped crying. She shook her head slightly to relieve the fogginess which clouded her eyes caused by her tears. She then tilted her head up in 2D's direction. "Not us." She smiled a toothy grin at him.

"What do ye mean?" He asked in confusion.

"I'll love you forever 2D-san!" She let out a small squeal of delight and hugged his side with enthusiasm. The singer ginned a toothless smile as he returned her hug and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"And I'll love yew forever too."

"_The sweetness within the downfall"

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_

_A/N: I really had trouble writing this chapter so I hope it's up to the usual standard._

_I was originally going to end this chapter differently, but I might save that for the start of the next one.  
_

_Soooo…I've done what I have to do…now...  
_

_Review me please, I have cake!_

_Everyone loves cake!_

_Thanks again everyone for your support! xX_


	7. Fear Of Hurdles

_A/N: Alas! I have returned! Sorry for this very delayed chapter D:_

_What can I say, writer's block got the better of me._

_First off, methinks praise is in order, I mean seriously, that's the quickest I've ever gotten feedback._

_O_O…_**23**_ reviews for chapter 6? I think I just pee'd a little…_

**31**_ Fav's , let's have a party!_

_Woot! Over _**3,000**_ hits! _

**eternal-memorys****, Kristen-san, ****Midnight Sanctity****, ****Wordwryhta****, maura **_(twice :D)_**, ****5islovesaidkittifreak****, Rei4, ****Clow12391****, ****Nicky-Rockit****, Jordan, ****Rin Koorbloh****, ****Psychic City**, **Zomby****, ****Cortexikid****, ****Ian St. George****, ****your wrost nightmare****, Erin, BlastMyBrass, ****J Mariie****,****anon, Emmi **_and _**Liz**. _Thanks soooooo much for your great reviews, you never fail to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Seriously, you guys are my motivation. __**A great big bundle of love goes out to each and every one of you!**_

_**Rei4**__, you seriously need to get an account so that I can reply and answer your questions._

_Chapter 7 you say? Well let get back to the story, people, I'm gonna warn you, there's some violence/gore towards the end of this chapter, nothing too bad. Yeah, this one is kinda slow, getting the feeling that it may be a filler, hopefully not though. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gorillaz, they belong to Damon and Jamie. But I would like them for Christmas… Santa…I'm looking at you._

_

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7. Fear Of Hurdles 

Murdoc Niccals' hat collection was an insight into the man's life. He took pride in the variety of the headwear; the variations in size, shape and colour were definite proof of an eventful existence. Murdoc tended to collect the hats as a way of reminiscing, each one told a different story, mainly ending in either unavoidable incarceration or the contraction of a sexually transmitted infection. Yes, Murdoc most defiantly found a strange form of pride in collecting souvenirs from his many conquests. His collection which once sat proudly on his bed was now a heap on the floor, to make room for the object of his hatred. Somehow, over the passed 48 hours, Murdoc's bedroom was seized by his band mates and used as a recovery centre for their singer. The dullard had made himself comfortable in the bed that was once Murdoc's own.

"So…lemme get this straight lards, yer want me ta giv' the dullard my room?" The bassist nonchalantly reached over for another hat from his collection; picking out his navy blue N.Y.P.D cap. He adjusted its position on his head and admired his reflection in the mirror, making faux guns out of his hands by clenching his fists and sticking out his index fingers.

"That's right."

"My room, on my plastic island? That I built?" He turned to the large drummer and took aim at him, cocking his mock weapons in the process.

"Yeah." Russel instinctively raised his hand to scratch the back of his head; he all of a sudden became aware of what he was asking from the older man.

"Are yer fuckin' mad? Yer fat twat! Yer can shove that offer where the sun don't shine!" The green skinned bassist waved his skinny arms out in front of himself for much needed emphasis, discarding his fake guns. He quickly reached up and tossed the hat back onto the pile. Murdoc made a stride in the direction of his bedroom door.

"C'mon man! Ya owe him this!" Russel pleaded, attempting to rationalist with the bassist.

"Tha only thing I ow 'im is a kick up 'is ungrateful arse!" The bassist turned back in the drummer's direction with a snarl. "I mean, I made 'im famous, I made 'im rich, I made 'im an idol, I made 'is dreams come true lards, and 'ow does 'e repay me?...'e…'e… bloody tries to kill 'imself!" Murdoc raged in a sudden outburst.

Though Russel could see through the older man's anger, the words had appeared to cause a deep stinging sensation to form within his apparently hollow chest. Murdoc bowed his head a little from the pain they caused. In truth, the bassist would have to admit that he did hold some twisted, unconventional form of affection for his singer. Like an annoying puppy that you hated but occasionally felt sorry for because it was so useless and brought down by its own incompetence. That was what 2D meant to Murdoc, that irritating background noise that would be terribly missed if it was ever silenced.

Russel bowed his head in unison with the bassist, he realised that he also hadn't taken to time to come to terms with 2D's actions; he had spent the last two days acting as a pillar of strength and emotional support for his friends. The percussionist turned back to check that their unconscious singer hadn't been unnecessarily woken by the bassist's loud outburst. He went to speak again, but was cut off by Murdoc.

"'E didn't even think…'e didn't think of wot 'e would leave behind!" The bassist's outburst had calmed down a little and his voice was more filled with hurt than any other emotion. As if he was realising the inflictions of his words, Murdoc seemed to shudder and back away, all of a sudden feeling extremely vulnerable and exposed. He snapped his head back up in Russel's direction and instantly rebuilt his offensive façade. He groaned and spoke again. "I mean, where else am I gonna get a singer? Noodle's alright I suppose but she aint exactly Pavarotti. I can't afford ter replace faceache!"

"Muds, it's okay man, it's okay to feel that way." Russel's white eyes grew in size as he attempted to connect and reason with the stubborn bassist. "But I think it would be best fo 'D to stay here. I mean, ya gotta admit, it's easier to get to in case somethin happens." He offered his large hand out to the Satanist as a gesture of peace and raised his eyebrow.

Murdoc shrugged off the drummer's offer and made another move to leave the room. He made a large stride in the direction of the door; he turned his head back to Russel as he continued walking away. "Not a good enough reason lards." He stated dismissively.

"He's not going back to that room!" Murdoc was halted as he snapped his head forward to find the origin of the command. The voice was strained and husky, yet it was still clear that it came from the young Japanese guitarist standing in his doorway. The bassist's mismatched eyes widened in horror as he scanned the young woman, she was a mess.

Her skin was now paler in appearance than it had ever been before. Her once dazing green eyes were now dull and bloodshot, and complimented by worryingly dark bags underneath them. Her lips were dry and chapped; her hair had also lost its vibrancy and now was pulled into a messy up-do which sat limply on her head. It seemed that Noodle's body was taking a beating from her own emotional strain. She hadn't slept for days; she had spent all of her time watching over 2D, selflessly giving up her body's needs as well as her hygiene. Russel had become increasingly concerned about her, but her own stubbornness always got in the way of his pleas. She carried a damp towel and a glass of water in her hands, which were now prone to involuntary shaking.

"Tha's the last thing yer need ta be worryin' about love" Murdoc put a green hand on her shoulder, attempting to shift the subject away from himself. "Seen a mirror lately?" The bassist put on his best _warm_ smile as a lame attempt to convey the alien emotion known as compassion. Noodle's parched limps curled down into a frown as she saw through Murdoc's shallow attempt and violently shrugged his hand off her shoulder. She moved passed him in the direction of Russel and 2D. The drummer offered her a small smile yet his distinguished white eyes remained hollow.

Her uneven paces on small, shaky feet were enough for Russel to brace himself in case her small frame happened to topple over. Noodle's sleep deprived state was so alien to them; in the past she had always taken care of herself so well.

As the young guitarist moved passed the large drummer, she felt him place a gentle hand on her back to help steady her unpredictable balance, though she didn't seem to notice. Noodle moved carefully to place the glass of water on the nightstand adjacent to the sleeping singer's head. She then swiftly moved around the large double bed to slowly sit down in the empty space next to 2D. The tempting warmth and softness of the clean sheets made her futile attempts to escape fatigue weaken; her eyelids all of a sudden seemed a lot heavier than she remembered. But she couldn't give in, not until she knew that the man next to her was alright. He had barely stayed conscious for longer than five minuets at a time since his overdose. She vowed that she wouldn't rest until his was awake and fully aware.

Noodle lifted her tired eyes to reach Russel's concerned gaze, she sighed and half-heartedly asked the same question she had asked him over and over again. "Any change?" She managed to choke out in a strained, hopeless, small voice. She wasn't really focusing on the drummer's response, yet she caught him shaking his head apologetically in the blurred lines of her peripheral vision. It's not at though she was expecting some miracle to happen once she left the room, but there was always this strange childish part of her which hoped, maybe even wished, that he would recover in her short absence.

The guitarist lowered her head and reached for the damp cloth which she had retrieved during her short, uneventful trip to the kitchen. She tenderly lifted the cloth, steadying her shaking palms, and placed it on 2D's overheated forehead. At least his fever had subsided over the passed two days, yet his body still produced an unnatural heat. Noodle watched as the singer's peaceful, sleeping expression changed once the cool material came into contact with his warm skin. His mouth curled into a small frown and his eyebrows knotted into a slight scowl. Noodle continued dabbing his forehead gently before wearily looking back up at Russel. She let out a long awaited yawn before speaking.

"Did you get all of them?" She asked.

"Yeah." The drummer stated plainly.

"Are you sure? It's very important that you-"

"Noodle, I've got it taken care of." Russel moved towards the bed and placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder.

"Care ter fill me in?" Murdoc's shrill voice rudely interrupted the calm ambience of the room. Noodle and Russel simultaneously turned to see the older man still in their company, his skinny green build was leant against the sturdy doorframe and his face displayed an intimidating, displeased scowl. Once again, Murdoc Niccals, the attention whore, had been left out of the conversation.

Russel calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out three white capped orange bottles which where instantly recognisable. Each of them were filled to the brim with painkillers. "I found them in 'D's room" Russel started walking in Murdoc's direction. "There the last of his supply." He eventually reached the bassist and placed the pill bottles in the older man's tight grip. "And we're gonna get rid of them…All of them."

"Wha?" Murdoc gasped in a half-comprehendible expression of surprise.

"He's gonna havta go cold turkey." Russel turned back to look at Noodle with a look of deep sadness and guilt. His eyes then fell onto 2D. The drummer took a deep breath and spoke again. "It's gonna hurt him, real bad. But it's fo tha best. We've let him abuse his body for long enough and just sat by and watched him fall. We're gonna actually havta do somthin' 'bout it now." Noodle bowed her head down in unison with the drummer, she was afraid of the consequences of their drastic scheme, yet she had to admit, with the pills out of the picture, the chances of another overdose were next to nothing. Without the pills, he could begin to work passed his crippling addiction and face his fears. For too long the singer had relied on those blue and white capsules as a form of relief, as a safety net. But now, he may actually be able to see the truth. Getting over the withdrawal could possibly be his greatest hurdle, but it would serve as a much needed wake-up call. It was for the best.

Murdoc studied the pill bottles in his palm and spoke. "Can't I just keep 'em in case we 'ave a party and things get a little crazy?" He sniggered, attempting to lighten the mood with his boyish "charm". However his comic relief was not well received as his words provoked an undesired reaction from the drummer. Russel violently turned his head in the bassist's direction and growled at him

"There outta here! Ya got that? I want them gone! CLEAR?" Noodle flinched slightly at Russel's violent outburst and Murdoc sank back into the doorframe. He held his one free hand up in front of himself as a sign of surrender. Russel paced back to Murdoc and snatched the bottles from the older man's grip, forcing them back into his pocket. He then breathed out a heavy sigh and turned back to Noodle, wearing a much more sombre expression. He was still plagued with uncertainty as one question was left nagging him.

"Noodle…what happened?" He asked in a low, gruff register. The young woman stared blankly back at him through tired eyes.

"What are you talking about Russel-sama?"

"Ya know what I'm talking about. What happened between yo and 'D on tha day of his overdose?" Russel asked firmly, becoming impatient with her constantly avoiding his questioning.

Murdoc saw this as an opportunity to chirp up and ad his own opinion. "Yeah, we came back, an' my studio wos like a bloody bombsite!"

"Nothing."

"Yer don't get a black eye from nothin'!" Murdoc raged, pointing an accusing finger at the fading bruise which still plagued her eye. Noodle instinctively raised her hand to her face to shield the disfigurement from the bassists view.

"I fell." She stated matter-of-factly. She then turned to Russel, whose expression had now softened. "Russel-sama, I don't have the energy to get into this now, can we please talk about this another time?" She offered him a week smile, hoping that her interrogation would end soon; she severally lacked the energy to be bothered to attempt to reason with the two men. She knew that if she revealed the events of that day, her band mates would instantly side with her and launch an attack on their singer. She knew that they would place the blame of her injury on him even though it wasn't his fault, they would stay ignorant to her pleas of defence and lay into the vocalist, causing more problems than it would solve.

Russel saw straight through her lies but decided to let the subject shift none the less and play ignorant. He then looked to the bassist and raised his eyebrow.

"Now, about this room situation…" He started.

"There aint a situation lards, I'm not moving." Murdoc crossed his skinny green arms over his chest and formed a defensive barrier; he sent a deep scowl in the drummer's direction.

"C'mon man, ya expect him to wake up in there with that whale watchin' him? That's just gonna make him worse." Russel offered his best argumental points; he had planned this discussion in his head before, thinking up his arguments in the fashion which resembled a member of an elite debate team.

Murdoc just shook his head.

Russel was about to put his next point into action but was cut off by Noodle's unexpected intervention.

"It's alright Russel-sama, 2D will just have to come and sleep in my room…with me." She said the words in a nonchalant fashion, pretending that it was a completely normal statement. She never gained eye contact with either of the two men and concentrated on dabbing the cloth against 2D's warm forehead. She let a small smirk make its way across her features, knowing that her words would get some sort of rise out of Murdoc. She calmly brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear as she awaited the bassist's retaliation.

"Fuckin' FINE!" Murdoc waved his hands in the air in a gesture of defeat. "The dullard can have ma fuckin' room!" He fumed and stormed out the door mumbling. "Never liked it anyway!"

* * *

"'D, can ya hear me man?"

Russel's smooth voice filled the singer's ears as he fought an inward battle to regain his consciousness. His face twisted in a painful expression as he battled the unknown forces which sealed his eyes shut and held him down, preventing any movement.

"Stuart, it is me, we need you to wake up."

The next voice came from Noodle, though it was strange, she sounded so weak and so lost. He wanted more than ever to wake and put an end to their worry. With one final mental kick up the backside, his eyes flickered open.

Immediately he attempted to spring up from his vulnerable position but was all of a sudden forcefully restrained by the large drummer. On impulse, the singer began to panic and attempted to fight back against the vice like grip that the larger man held him under. 2D's escape attempts increased rapidly but were cut short by a crippling pain which arose in his chest. The singer yelped out in extreme pain.

"'D!" Russel yelled to get his attention. "Man, I know you're confused, but it's really important that ya listen to me!" Russel's wide white eyes gained contact with 2D's frightened black ones, his panic subsided, but the unbearable pain in his chest still caused him to wince. "'D, ya understand what ya did right?" The drummer questioned, the singer remained unresponsive.

Russel continued. "Ya overdosed man." The younger man's eyes widened as the clouded memories of his actions flooded back to him all at once. "But ya gonna be okay…it's just gonna take a while." Russel paused; 2D raised a questioning eyebrow. "The medication that got inta yo system has weakened your heart. So it's very important that ya don't make any sudden, strenuous movements, ya understand?" The singer nodded his head slowly, his mind still clogged by the drummer's use of medical jargon,_ what the hell does strenuous mean?_

Russel sighed, somehow understanding the younger man's confusion. "Just don't do anythin' that makes your chest hurt, clear?" The large man then carefully let go of his restrain on the singer. In response to his new found freedom, the vocalist slowly shifted his position so that he could rest his back on the headboard of the large double bed.

2D's gaze then wondered away from Russel's large retreating frame and skimmed the room until it fell upon the young woman next to him. He blinked back in disbelief as he gasped at her appearance. In his eyes, Noodle could never be anything less than beautiful, but her current state was horrifying. Never before had he seen her body take such a beating, yet she still smiled her toothy grin at him, despite her extreme fatigue. Her emerald eyes suddenly started to overflow with tears as she lunged forward and tightly wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

2D grunted at her sudden, unintentionally forceful embrace. He heard her mumble a slight apology into his neck before he retaliated, tightly wrapping his arms around her back. She continued to mumble inaudible utterances into his skin, he was unable to tell whether they were further apologies, or her scolding him for his drastic action, he wasn't even sure that she was speaking in English anymore. A few moments passed and Noodle had become silent, her hold on the singer was much looser. 2D lifted his head to reach the drummer's gaze.

"Russ, I fink she's asleep." He whispered to the larger man, cautious as to not disturb the guitarist from her peaceful state, judging by her appearance, she needed the rest.

"Good." The drummer stated half-heartedly as his mind focused on the task of dragging a small, wooden chair over to the singer's bedside. He dumped the seat about a meter or so away from the bed and performed a tricky manoeuvre of trying to fit his large build on such a small area. After a few moments he adopted the most comfortable position he possibly could and took a deep breath.

"'D, we need ta talk." He exhaled in an authority like manor. If the singer was none the wiser, he could easily be back at school, receiving a disciplinary from the Head.

2D remained silent, not wanting his eyes to gain contact with Russel's intimidating white orbs.

"Let's get this out in da open shell we? Ya tried to kill yourself 'D." He paused, taking care that his words didn't come across as too intimidating. His expression relaxed and he offered the singer a warm smile. "Let's talk about it."

"I didn't!" The vocalist yelped out in defence. Noodle stirred slightly against him as he quickly regretted the volume of his replay. He started again, this time in a much softer, quieter tone. "I didn't Russ. I kno it looks like I did, but I wosn't tryin' ta kill myself, 'onest." Russel raised an eyebrow, his expression perfectly displaying his lack of belief in the singer's words. 2D registered the disproving glare and continued.

"I didn't fink tha far ahead ta tell tha truf, I just wonted everyfink ta stop. I wonted tha pain ta stop, I wonted tha anxiety ta stop, I wonted tha voices ta stop…I didn't fink about diein', I just wonted ta sleep." He lowered his gaze to the floor, suddenly realising how immature and pathetic his reasoning sounded. "I kno it's stupid Russ, but at tha time, it seemed like tha best fing for me ta do."

"'D, ya don't sound stupid, I understand what ya mean." Russel placed a large hand on the younger man's shoulder, cautious that his movements didn't cause any disturbances to the sleeping guitarist.

"Tell yew wot though, it wosn't 'alf strange bein in limbo." The singer spoke light-heartedly, remembering his distorted experiences of being in the midway point between life and death. He shook his head dismissively and returned his gaze to Noodle, brushing a few stray strands out of her face. The vocalist almost didn't notice the drummer's odd reaction to his words. His reassuring hand on 2D's shoulder was quickly snatched away. The singer turned to see the drummer's new expression, his white eyes widened, his jaw slightly dropped, his whole expression was blank as he stared at the empty wall. 2D could also detect hints of fear riddled within the large man's expression.

"Russ, wots tha matter, yew look like yew've seen a ghost or sumfink."

"Did you see him?" Russel's voice came out in a low, gruff monotone, displaying no emotion as he continued to stair blankly ahead.

"Who?"

"…Death…I've seen him 'D, twice now. And I'm prayin' that there isn't a third time." The drummer's voice was much shakier now, the pain of fear embedded in his words.

"Russ, are yew alright?" The singer moved his free hand up to reassure the shaken drummer; however the larger man snatched his lanky pale arm in his tight grip, his white eyes gaining contact with black.

"If ya ever see him, run. Run 'D, as far away as possible, cause he'll take ya, without hesitation, he'll just take ya. Like he did with Del!" Russel's grip on the singer's arm began to become unbearable, he frantically attempted to snatch his limb away from the percussionist, but was unable to shift the heavy man's grasp. 2D strained actions continued until that excruciating ache reappeared within his chest causing him to wince in pain.

The singer's discomfort was enough to shake Russel from his temporary impaired state. He quickly let go of the younger man's arm and moved up and out of his chair, letting out an apology in the process. He then scratched the back of his head and smiled a bashful grin in embarrassment.

2D looked down at his arm and the growing red patch forming on it, he then glared back up at the drummer, his expression twisted in confusion.

"Wot wos that?"

Russel made a move to get to the opposite side of the bed, he spoke calmly whilst reaching over for the guitarist. "Tell ya what man, when you're ready ta talk ta me about some of ya problems, I'll let ya in on some of mine." His large arms gently embraced the guitarist as he picked her up and moved to leave the room. He heard the singer mildly protest as she left his side. Russel reached to doorway, with Noodle still sleeping in his arms and turned to the vocalist, he spoke in a wise manor before swiftly leaving the room.

"C'mon 'D, get some more rest, ya only just survived your OD, one step at a time man."

* * *

An unnatural chill crept into the master bedroom on plastic beach. It wasn't long before the temperature of the whole room drastically began to drop. The sudden, unnecessary change in the environment was enough to jolt 2D from his dreamless sleep. His black eyes flickered a few times before they adjusted to the darkness of the night. His instinctive reaction was to sit up, however the sharp ache in his chest halted him midway through his movement and forced him to succumb to it and fall back into his sheets. The singer's head fell heavy onto the pillow and his outstretched arms sank back into the warm bedding, well his left one did at least.

His right arm came into contact with a foreign object which appeared to be next to him in the bed. He quickly snatched back his arm as if it had been severely scolded as his inched away from the invader. An uneasy feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach, something was very wrong.

The temperature in the room dropped again, so much that the singer could even see his own breath as his breathing began to become rapid and strained. Feeling the cold more than ever, he had no alternative but to snatch the sheets away from the object to his right. He vigorously pulled at the blankets surrounding it until a few strands of purple hair were uncovered. A sense of dread filled the singer as he was sure that he could recognise a faint scent in the frigid air which resembled that of the young, Japanese guitarist. He frantically moved the sheets back with more desperation, ignoring the growing pain emerging from his weakened heart.

A wave of relief washed over the strained vocalist as a small, familiar pale arm and shoulder came into view, he gently removed the rest of the bedding to reveal the small frame of Noodle. She lay silently on her side with her back to him. Her familiar presence quickly drove away the singer's uneasy feelings as somehow he felt safer knowing that she was there. He instantly let his grip on the sheets go and fell back into his pillow letting out a sigh of relief.

But his serenity and peace where short lived as another dreaded wave of uneasiness crept into his head, something felt …off. He was sure that she had left with Russel earlier. When she was younger it was normal for her to sneak into bed with him when she got scared, but that was so long ago, why would she just do it out of the blue? He turned his weary head to the side and studied her peaceful state. He watched her in silence for a few moments before the familiar sense of panic began to sink in. Why was she so still? Why was she so quiet?

His arm moved out on its own accord and brushed against the soft skin of her arm, he flinched back, she was cold, unbearably cold. He moved again, this time getting a better grip on her skin, his eyes widened in horror, his warped mind taking a little longer to realise.

"Noodle?" He choked in a strained half-sob. He tightened his grip on her small arm and gently turned her over so that she was facing him. It was easy to mover her, she was limp, too limp. The unmistakable stench of iron suddenly filled the room as her body was turned on her back. Through the darkness, 2D squinted to focus on her form. All of a sudden, his gag reflex violently kicked in as he quickly raised one hand to cover his mouth. His black eyes fell over the large, hideously deep slash in the centre of her chest. The pastel cotton of her pyjama top was now soaked in the warm, sticky, crimson liquid which had now stopped flowing and begun to dry around the monstrous wound.

"Noodle!" He cried out in a pitch higher than he was accustomed to. His frantic eyes scanned her chest in disbelief. His eye line then involuntarily made a trail up her when he noticed the skin on her neck stained a deep red by the blood. Slowly he scanned her jaw line; her full lips were parted slightly as she wore a blank expression. The singer was then drawn to her eyes. Her once enchanting emerald orbs which were now drained of their radiance and glazed over as they stared lifelessly at the ceiling. She was gone.

"No! No! No! Not again!" The panicked singer made a lunge for her body. The agonising sting within his chest was ignored as his sudden rush of adrenaline forced his body to move much more than it should have. The familiar pressure in his head also began to build up, but that too was ignored. 2D shifted himself closer to her as he pulled her cold, limp body closer to him. He bowed his head in anguish as the tears began to form thick and fast. He pulled her closer, so that he cradled her small body close to his chest, ignoring the growing wetness forming on his skin as her blood began to stain him.

He screamed, he shouted, he turned to God, he begged and he sobbed. But nobody heard him, and nobody came. His Noodle still lay dead in his arms. There was nothing he could do.

He waited there with her for what was maybe an hour, maybe five minutes, he couldn't tell. The only thing he could feel now was the burning, whether it was the sting caused by his bitter tears or the constant tide of blistering heat causing his heart to ache, it didn't matter.

The tears had now subsided into shaky breathing, and his own initial heartbreak had died down enough for him to register his surroundings again. That's when he heard _her_. Her unwelcome presence was made audible as she shuffled in the shadows, just loud enough for him to hear, just quiet enough for him to question whether it was real. She made another movement, this one a lot more prominent, so that the sound emitted almost echoed in the silent room. This was enough to cause the singer to lift his eye line and stair into the darkness through foggy vision.

She lunged suddenly out of the shadows, revealing herself in the stream of moonlight which cascaded in through the large windows. Her Cheshire Cat like grin was enough for him to recognise the cyborg. Upon seeing her, his body instinctively tightened and his grip on Noodle's body became more intense, he pulled her lifeless frame closer to his own, desperately attempting to preserve what little he had left of his Noodle.

The cyborg advanced towards the bed, her smile never shifting from her distorted features. The oil still leaking from her monstrous wound, soaking her clothing and the carpet with the thick black liquid. She paused when she reached the centre of the room. She lifted one of her palms into his view, it was covered in the oil, she then pointed to Noodle's body and spoke.

"Look…We match!" She grinned. "You know what they say Stuart, an eye for an eye." She giggled.

"Yew killed 'er! Yew fuckin' killed 'er!" was all that the distressed singer could choke out, he wanted to threaten her, to say something menacing, but that would require him to be thinking straight.

She relished in the desperation of his retaliation before making another stride in his direction. "Oh no, you took care of this one all by yourself." She moved closer, almost touching the end of the bed now. "I did warn you, but you didn't listen, did you?" She asked in a patronising manor, tilting her unsymmetrical head to the side. "And I always keep true to my word."

"You're a liar!" he choked in between bitter tears.

"Oh, but I'm not." She then placed either of her hands on the end of the bed and began to crawl closer to him; her unfazed glare caused a cold shudder to run down his spine as she stared right through him. "I'm surprised that you don't remember it, I mean it was quiet eventful." The singer edged back as far as he could, his back coming into contact with the headboard, clutching desperately onto Noodle's body.

"You saved her for last." She ginned. 2D's jaw fell instantly on her comment and his black voids widened in horror and denial. "Oh yes, the other's are dead too. Can you still hear her? She pleaded to you, begged for her life. Can you still hear her blood curdling screams from when you plunged that knife into her chest, over and over again?"

"Stop it!" He yelped in defence, not wanting to hear anymore of her lies. He wanted so desperately to make an escape, but he knew that getting to his feet and bolting for the door now would most likely result in cardiac arrest.

The singer tightly closed his eyes as the cyborg advanced closer to him, her nose practically touching his. He all of a sudden felt a large pressure be lifted from him in that moment.

"Open your eyes." He didn't know why he complied with her commands, maybe he was tired of resisting her, now that his friends were gone, he couldn't see the point in fighting the darkness any more. With one swift motion his eyelids released his vision from the darkness. To the singer's surprise, the cyborg no longer invaded his personal space. Instead she was casually leaning with her back resting on the adjacent wall. 2D then looked down when he noticed that there was no longer a body in his arms. He frantically began searching for any sign of Noodle, he wasn't ready to let go of her yet. He lifted the bedding and found that her blood was no longer staining the sheets, he then looked over his own body, not a drop of the crimson liquid was to be found. The cyborg silently watched him from her position by the wall.

"Consider that as a warning." She finally spoke up, halting the singer in the middle of his actions. He sent her a deep scowl. She smiled at his reaction. "Next time though, it'll be real, do you understand me?" 2D fell back onto the bed, struggling to breathe due to the strain which the horrifying hallucination had put him under. He took a deep sigh of relief and thanked the gods that it wasn't real; however, his relief was half-hearted as the cyborg was still invading his mind.

She ginned her usual, sinister smile and moved away from the wall. "So, the pills didn't work after all. I do hope for their sake that you're not going to give up that easily, there is always another way."

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_Wow, I'm really getting dark…kind of scary reading that last part back._

_Anyways, as usual, when I decide a deadline for the next chapter, I'll put it up on my profile._

_Ya know the drill people, review's pretty please :D _

_Hopefully my writer's block is over. xX_


	8. Fixations Of Love And Mortality

_A/N: Guys…I'm gonna get you all depressed now._

_I'm really sorry for the long wait, I hate making you wait, but I think I have a good enough reason._

_Personal crisis time, I've recently just gotten out of a 3 year relationship and it's really taken its toll on me._

_For days I couldn't even think of writing. That's why I've been out of the loop and haven't really been able to read or review anyone's work recently, my apologies, it's not that I don't appreciate the brilliant stories that are coming out. _

_So, I'm gonna take a few weeks away from writing to get my head sorted and move on. Trust me, when I come back I'm gonna make up for it though, I owe it to all of you for brightening my day with your wonderful reviews, I love you all so much and you are my inspiration, thank you._

_Sob story over_

_Woot over 100 review, thank you so much everyone!_

_So methinks I should thank: _**Wordwryhta****, ****Zomby****, ****JasminMarie****, ****eternal-memorys****, coco, ****Kittifreak**** , maura, ****Nicky-Rockit****, ****Beatlemaniac1****, Kristen-san, Jordan, ****Beyond-The-Limit****, ****Psychic City****, Alexis, keedahartzjam, liz, Forest, ****your wrost nightmare****, ****ParalyticDreamx****, ****Primitiveradiogoddess****, ****cherry-magpie-x****, ****XxVAmPiReXbAbExX6767****, ****Va Vonne****, ****Danielle Gutierrez**_and _**Gimmie back that fillet o'fish** **. **_xX_

_Read _**Camisado**_ by_** ParalyticDreamx** _It's a really good story (and it's got me in it!)_

_Ladies and Gents, Chapter 8…_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, Gorillaz belong to Damon and Jamie, I wouldn't have it any other way. XD_

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8. Fixations Of Love And Mortality 

"Murdoc-san, I understand completely that this is your home. You have every right to feel comfortable. But for the sake of my sanity, could you please put some clothes on?"

The stern tone of her voice made the plea come across as more of an unintentional command rather than a request. Noodle held a small hand up to her face to protect her eyes from the offending rays of the midday sun. She squinted slightly as she let her jade orbs adjust and focus on the form of Murdoc Niccals, awaiting his response. She scanned the older man once again and cringed at his attire. He had joined her on his plastic shoreline about an hour ago and was dressed in only a pair of hot red Speedos that appeared to be two sizes too small, thus hardly leaving anything to the imagination. His outfit was complemented by an oversized sombrero, which sat crookedly atop of his black mop.

"Eh love, many would kill fer a piece o' this." Murdoc drunkenly slurred, motioning his hand across his physique whilst still clutching a hefty half-drunken bottle of tequila. The bassist then took uneven steps back to his abandoned sun-lounger and slumped down onto it. He took another swig from the bottle and closed his eyes.

"I _bet_ they would." Noodle mumbled with a tone of mock enthusiasm before leaning back onto her elbows and copying the older man by shutting her eyes, attempting to catch the sun's rays.

"Sarcasm doesn't suit yer love." The bassist retaliated. After a few moments, he fell silent. His drunken ramblings were then replaced by drawn out, ragged snores which were the result of years of substance abuse. The unwelcome sound cut through the peaceful ambiance with the precision of a scalpel. Noodle let out an annoyed groan as her attempt to relax was halted by the un-ignorable persistent wheezing erupting from the Satanist.

The young guitarist accepted that there was not much she could do to silence the bassist. Instead she attempted to let her attention shift. She found that the horizon ahead of her provided the perfect blank canvas for her thoughts to wonder over. Her stray thoughts gathered where they usually did, with 2D.

It had been a little over a week since he had kicked his painkiller addiction, the initial anxiety from the withdrawal had subsided slightly, now he was only left with his will power and his 'counselling' from Russel. It seemed logical that their drummer would be the one to dictate the singer's recovery; apparently he was the only one of them _qualified_ to, since he was the only band member to have actually experienced a mental breakdown of similar proportions.

Yet Murdoc and Noodle remained in the dark, they had no idea how 2D was getting on. The vocalist had avoided the two, spending his time with the drummer. He had only shared a few stray sentences and awkward silences with his band mates. Murdoc didn't pay much attention; he simply shrugged off the singer's unusual behaviour. In truth, the bassist was glad, he had no idea how to approach the younger man.

Noodle, on the other hand, was unable to ignore his retreat. When she was growing up, she used to be closer to 2D than anyone, he was her best friend. But now, they were strangers, two people who only shared a cold, empty space between them. Noodle wondered if maybe she and 2D were two completely different people, newer versions of their former selves, still exploring each other amongst the various fixations. On the few occasions that she had actually shared any contact with him since his recovery started, she had been struck down by the look of fear in his black eyes, he was hiding something, then again, so was she.

The sound of heavy feet on synthetic sand reached the ears of the young guitarist. The mild disturbance was enough to shake her from her daze. Unfortunately the arrival of Russel and 2D didn't have the same affect on a certain Murdoc Niccals, who remained in a deep slumber, his tar covered lungs causing his loud snores to crackle.

Noodle tilted her head to the side and opened one eye to address whoever had invaded her train of thought. The guitarist then widely opened her eyes as she registered the two forms approaching her.

Russel took heavy, uneven paces over the sand as he struggled with the added weight of having to help support the singer. He had a large arm across the vocalist's shoulders as he helped the younger man to walk, his heart had still not fully healed, walking was quiet an uncomfortable chore for the singer. The young woman noticed the large grins pasted on both of the men's faces as they neared her, she raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Baby-girl." Russel called out, slightly out of breath. "We got some news." The pair finally reached Noodle and stopped about a foot in front of her. Noodle held a hand above her eyes as she looked up at them, protecting herself from the sun's glair. Her focus seemed to shift and linger on 2D's expression; she studied his features as Russel continued. "'D's gonna quit smokin'. Isn't that great?"

"Oh" She replied in a low register before turning her attention back to the horizon, she seemed almost unfazed by Russel and 2D's 'big news'.

"Oh? Whatchu mean baby-girl? We should be celebratin'" The drummer's grin had soon fell from his features; his white eyes glaring at her in disbelief; he couldn't understand the young woman's lack of enthusiasm. "yo do realise that 'D's body is gonna benefit when he's smoke free, it's gonna speed up his recovery!" Russel exclaimed in excitement, patting the younger man on the back.

"Or it's going to set him back." Noodle stated plainly as she turned her attention back to her two band mates, glaring up at them through the sunlight. She sighed and made a swift motion to get to her feet. She still stood considerably shorter than the two men at full height. She spoke again, never taking her green orbs from 2D's mask of a smile. "Tell me Russel-sama, was this Stuart's idea, or yours?" She moved her eye line to meet the drummer's and raised and eyebrow.

"I-I, don't understand-"

"I don't think that making him give up too many things at once is a good idea, of course I'd love it if 2D gave up smoking, but I fear it may overwhelm him." Her tone carried an aggressive edge as her pessimism came across more viciously than she originally anticipated. The betrayed look that Russel shot her after her outburst seemed to burn a guilty hole into her. However, her anger, her negativity was never aimed at the drummer. Noodle crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from them, a bitter sting lacing her words. "But, _I _wouldn't know what's best for him, would _I_?"

Salty tears began making tracks down her cheeks as she realised how fractured her relationship with the singer actually was. How could they slip so far away from each other? She remembered the promises they made years ago, they promised never to let anything get between them. And now, they had gone nearly a week without speaking and not seemed the slightest bit bothered by it. Everything they once had was fading away, he was fading away. If only she knew the real reason behind his distance.

2D hid behind the shield of his fake smile, the protection it offered him was becoming comfortable. If he had granted the others an insight into what was going on in his seemingly simple mind, they would see that he was terrified. The migraines had worsened in intensity since he stopped taking the pills, at first they were brought on by his anxiety of loosing his safety net, his release. But now they were the result of his numerous encounters with the relentless voice of the cyborg.

Russel had made his best attempt at teaching 2D methods of dealing with the pain; however they only partly dulled the pressure. And now the drummer wanted him to give up smoking, something about it helping his weakened heart to heal. 2D felt that he couldn't protest, the drummer seemed so enthusiastic, he couldn't let him down. So again, the fears were repressed down into the singer's mind, causing yet more hallucinations to follow.

2D stayed ignorant in his own thoughts, he barely paid any attention to the conversation between Russel and Noodle. His black eyes wondered over to the guitarist and he couldn't help but become fixated with her yet again. His gazed wondered over her petite frame as he admired her beauty. However the image of her blood soaked body from his nightmares flooded his thoughts as he jolted back to reality. He had to keep away from her; he had to prevent her brutal death.

The singer didn't seem to notice Russel's large frame move away, he stayed in his own thoughts. It was only when his drifting gaze caught Noodle's that he was forced back into a comprehensive mindset.

"He's gone now, you can drop the act." Her voice was stern and carried an 'all-knowing' tone along with it. 2D replied with a confused look, not letting the smile drop from his face. Noodle rolled her eyes and took a firm hold on his hand; she then proceeded to pull him along behind her as they moved down the plastic coastline away from the sleeping form of Murdoc.

* * *

When enough distance was created between them and the bassist, the guitarist halted in her spot and turned back to the bemused singer.

"Well?" She questioned, annoyed at the fact that he still refused to drop his gleeful expression. She sighed, a sigh of hopelessness and frustration, before she finally let go and sat down on the synthetic ground beneath her. She brought her knees up to her chest and glared straight ahead of her, purposely avoiding the singer. Eventually she spoke again, this time in a week, broken voice. "When did you become a liar?"

"Noods, I don't understand." He retaliated before taking a seat by her side. His hand unintentionally brushed her arm causing both of their eye lines to collide. Noodle stared into his black voids, seeing that familiar hidden fear, that repression he held onto so tightly.

2D gazed into her jade orbs, reliving his horrific visions as the sight of her dead body haunted him yet again. In horror, he quickly snatched his hand away from her and turned his attention elsewhere. The guitarist however, continued to stair.

"Don't do that!" She protested. "Stop pushing me away!" She suddenly reached out for his hand and instinctively took it in her own. The oddly familiar sensation caused her heart to flutter as she suddenly found herself craving the old memories which they both once shared. A closeness that they both held onto which could never be defined or duplicated, 2D and Noodle against the world.

The problem was, Noodle let go of it all when she left. She gave up the right of being his best friend when she walked out of his life, faking her own death, lying to him. She shouldn't be granted such a privilege as his truth; his trust was something which she would have to earn back.

Noodle straightened her legs out in front of her and paced 2D's hand in her lap, she still clung onto it and interlocked his fingers with her own. The guitarist let out a heavy sigh before speaking again.

"I'm sorry it's just-" She snatched her gaze away from their hands and moved it back up to look him in the eye. Immediately she was struck down by black, the words getting lost somewhere in her throat, which was becoming dry all of a sudden. Noodle managed to pull her gaze away from the singer for long enough to form comprehensive speech again. "Talk to me, please." She pleaded whilst keeping eye contact with the plastic ground beneath them.

"Wot about?"

"Anything."

"Tha's not very specific Noodle."

"Why are you staying away from me?" The words caused a deep sting as she said them which also spurred a creeping wetness to form in the corners of her eyes. She continued to stair at the ground, both anticipating and dreading his reply. She could faintly hear the sound of him inhaling deeply over her own heartbeat. After a drawn out silence, she gave up hope of gaining a response.

"Okay" She spoke bluntly, bitter inflictions embedded in her voice. "Don't tell me." She then made a violent motion to her feet as she prepared to storm away from him, both angered and upset by his secrecy. Once she had gained a steady balance, Noodle made a stride back towards the entrance of Plastic Beach.

"I'll 'urt yew Noodle!" The damaged singer called out in an attempt to make her stay. 2D could hear her stop in her tracks; he turned his head to face her. She stood motionless with her back still turned on him. "If I get too close to yew, I'm afraid tha' I might 'urt yew."

"You already have." She said plainly into the empty air ahead of her. The singer continued to look over at her form, expecting her to walk away, to leave him, like everyone else. He eventually lowered his gaze as guilt began to creep through him. That damn hallucination had shaken him so much; he figured that the best way to avoid Noodle's grizzly fate was to keep his distance. He stayed with Russel, as he knew that the drummer would easily overpower him if he became unpredictable again. But with Noodle, he couldn't trust himself around her. She could both provoke and sedate his unpredictable episodes.

2D was jolted back to reality as he was surprised to feel the young guitarist return to his side. The alluring aura which surrounded her was once again consuming his senses, it was so familiar to feel her presence next to him, yet since her return, this spurred something else to stir deep inside him. An unfamiliar attraction that was still misunderstood. 2D turned his head to look at her as she stared blankly at the horizon.

"Pushing me away from you has hurt me more than you physically ever could." She sang the words in in a soft voice, not looking at him.

"Wot about tha' recording studio? I can't eva let myself get tha' out of control again." The singer spoke, causing the guitarist to turn back to him, a look of disbelief embedded somewhere deep within her green gaze.

"And the other's, aren't you concerned about their safety?"

"It only eva 'appens when I'm around yew."

"…Oh." The thought dawned on the guitarist, her impact on him, was she literally driving him crazy? The reality of her actions sunk in again with crippling pain, she had drove him over the edge, pulled him back and pushed him down again. She had left him four years ago without saying a word, and now here she was, expecting him to let her in. He needed to know the truth, Russel knew, Murdoc knew, it was only fair that 2D was let in on it.

Noodle made a motion to take a hold of both of his hands; her grip was shaky and unsecured. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, speaking in a small, timid voice. "Don't hate me, please."

" Wot yew on wiv, Noods?" 2D chuckled, not quiet understanding the gravity of her tone.

"It's about El Manana." She stated weakly, ignoring his question. At the very mention of the title she could feel him tense. The air between them suddenly grew cold.

"I don't want ta talk about tha'" He stated plainly. The memories of the worst day of his life flooded back to him, causing that unbearable ache to return to his already weakened heart as he recalled the pain of loosing his little-love.

"When I left I didn't rea-"

"Yew left?"

Noodle blinked at him, suddenly feeling the confidence draining from her. She timidly looked at the singer, noticing an expression midway between pain and betrayal play across his features.

"Yew left out of choice Noodle?" His tone was grim and menacing.

"…Yes." Noodle began to feel stifled sobs begin to overwhelm her.

"So yew left, an' pretended ta be dead!" 2D's voice had begun to crack from the surge of mixed emotions flooding his entire body.

"…Yes."

"I mourned yew! I cried for yew Noodle! I lay on your empty floor for two weeks! I prayed fo' yew! I begged for yew ta come back!" He snatched his hands away from her grip, causing a small plea of protest to come from the guitarist; however she was becoming too upset to attempt to reach over again. His voice was venomous as he scowled at her in anger.

"Where did yew go?"

"huh?"

"Where did yew go!"

"I-I- erm.."

"WHERE?"

"London!" She yelled out through the tears, her body shaking with sobs uncontrollably as she faced up to what she had done. She reached over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, desperately clinging onto whatever little hope she had left. The singer stayed unresponsive, he didn't embrace her back yet he didn't push her away. The vocalist's expression changed, instead of anger and frustration, he began to display hurt and anguish as he too began to succumb to sadness. He took a few moments longer than necessary to register her answer before he spoke himself.

"London? All this time an' yew were a few miles away." His voice had quietened as the anger faded away. "Yew didn't even try ta reach me Noodle."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The apology came out as a meagre mumble as her speech was still impaired by her sobs. She spoke the words into the exposed skin of his shoulder. She craved so much for the sensation of his arms wrapping around her back, she craved for his forgiveness. But it never came. The sudden chill in the air sent shivers down her spine, she knew it, he hated her.

"So am I." He spoke the words coldly and emotionlessly. The singer calmly reached back and untangled her tight clasp on him. Noodle still clung to his hands as he attempted to get up from his sitting position on the ground.

"Please don't go." She weakly pleaded as he snatched his hands away from her again. The singer didn't respond, instead he continued his actions. 2D finally reached his full height, towering over Noodle's kneeling form. He didn't look at her as he turned away, he couldn't bare it. Knowing what she had done had hurt him so much; he couldn't believe that his little-love could cause him so much pain. Who the hell was that young woman on the plastic shoreline? Not the Noodle he remembered.

The singer began to awkwardly walk away from Noodle. He had almost forgotten about the strain on his heart, though this time; the ache wasn't caused by his weakened organ. He continued to move forward as he headed towards the entrance of Plastic Beach. He could hear the guitarist feebly calling after him.

"Please!" She begged, but it was too late.

* * *

The heavy door of the master bedroom was surprisingly easy to master when consumed with rage. However the heftiness of the door was strangely reassuring to 2D as he used the large room as a retreat. The singer threw his lanky arms up in the air and covered his face with his hands. His palms then reached up into his blue hair and he lightly tugged on his locks in frustration. He still couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"It's starting." For a second the singer was sure that his heart had stopped beating when he heard that familiar voice. However the rhythm returned as he took a second to realise that _she_ was back. He groaned out in annoyance. He was too preoccupied with his situation concerning the real Noodle to be bothered by his hallucination of the fake one. She took his silence as an invite to continue. "Their turning against you. First Russel wants you to cut out the nicotine, now Noodle is a liar. It's only a matter of time before they all turn on you." She mocked.

The singer turned to see her sitting on the end of her bed, dressed in her usual attire, wearing that stupid grin on her dented face.

"Maybe killing them is a good idea." She raised her eyebrow to him. 2D rolled his eyes and returned his glare to the large panes of glass ahead of him, hoping that the view of the ocean would calm him in some way.

"Have yew not got 'nythin' better ta do?" He groaned aloud in annoyance. He caught a glimpse of her in his peripheral, her cat like grin widening at the tone of his voice. He was playing her game.

"Hit a nerve did I?" She sang in a mocking tone before getting up from the bed and making her way over to him. 2D turned around as he sensed her movement, he directly averted his eyes away from her gaze and focused on the oil stains on the carpet. He glared right passed her and fixated on the shiny black liquid trailing behind her; a single moment of clarity hit him right then and there. If he could just convince himself that the oil wasn't real, then she would disappear.

So the singer focused on the fluid. All the toils of the day: Love, hate and mortality faded from his mind to make way for a simple thought. The oil wasn't real. If he touched it, it wouldn't stain his skin. If he smelled it, it would be odourless. If he threw a lit match in its direction, I wouldn't even burn. The simple fact was, it just wasn't there.

"Stuart, please, I need to talk to you!"

2D's head snapped back up into reality as Noodle's voice from behind the door cut through his concentration. The progress of his realisation had slipped away. His thoughts were replaced by Noodle, and the way he currently felt about Noodle. He couldn't determine what he held for her; it was a borderline emotion somewhere in the midst of resentment and curiosity. He could never truly hate her, never, that was a simple fact. Even if she had committed an unforgivable act, he would find a way to forgive her, to redeem her. His current anger towards her was more down to misunderstanding than anything else. He needed a reason behind her actions.

Noodle didn't wait for a reply; instead she took it on herself to open the bedroom door and venture inside. She timidly stepped into the room and scanned the scene before her. Her emerald eyes soon fell on the singer, who was stood facing away from her, looking at the ground.

2D focused back on the spots of oil on the carpet. The stains were no longer there. He quickly glance around the room and searched for the cyborg. Instead his eyes were drawn to Noodle, standing motionless in his doorway. Her hands nervously fiddled behind her back as she looked up at him, searching for any sign of warmth, any sign of forgiveness.

After a moment too long of silent staring, the singer returned his gaze to the large windows ahead of him. He longed for some sort of nostalgia and clarity to come to him as he continued to search the miles of endless blue.

"I never told you why?"

The vocalist jumped slightly as he noticed the young guitarist join him by his side. She continued to gaze forward with him. Her voice was soft, almost soothing. It then dawned on the singer; did she chase away his hallucination? The presence she brought along with her changed the whole atmosphere of the room. Strangely, she seemed to calm him, when moments before, she had been the cause of his distress. It perplexed him how one person could changed the way he felt in so many ways. He felt as if he could just let go and forgive her there and then. The anger was fading, the confusion was clearing. Of course Noodle had a reason for leaving them, she wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally.

"I was suffocating." Noodle turned to look up at the singer, studding his reaction. "That home that we built together was becoming my prison. I needed to get out and experience life, on my own." She noticed the older man inhale sharply at her confession, a slight bitterness returning to his expression.

"An' yew needed ta fake your own death ta do that?"

Noodle bit down hard on her lip, she took a moment to stair at the ground, contemplating her next move. She lifted her gaze up to him again; he still refused to grant her the privilege of eye contact. The guitarist signed and moved her arm out to grip his shoulder forcefully. She pulled him around so that he faced her and placed a soft hand on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. She spoke in a low voice.

"Would you have let me go?"

2D blinked at her question. It took him by surprise. He hadn't taken the time to contemplate such a turn of events. He replied with a lie.

"Yes."

"Really?" Her eyebrow rose, she didn't believe him.

"I don't kno' Noodle." The singer finally gave in. "You're a hard person ta let go of." He sighed, reliving the hurt that she had caused. "But if yew had told me that yew wonted ta go, I fink I would have let yew, I only wonted yew ta be 'appy." He spoke in a weak voice; the urge to forgive his little-love was too strong. Noodle widely grinned at his response and flung her arms around his neck. The young guitarist was caught off guard when she felt him tenderly hug her back.

"How sweet."

2D's blood ran cold. His black eyes shot open to reveal the cyborg standing in front of him. Her menacing smile playing on her features as she gazed mischievously at the young woman in his arms. The singer's grip on the guitarist became tighter; he clung onto her small frame as hard as he could, fearing what his sinister counterpart may do. The unusual thought hit him, why was she here now? His nightmarish visions of the cybrog only ever materialised when he was alone.

"Did I interrupt? What a shame." She mocked him, provoking any reaction she could. She wanted to anger him, make him loose control and ultimately self destruct.

The singer quickly let go of the guitarist, earning a puzzled glance as he pushed her to his side, using himself as a barrier between Noodle and the cyborg. The guitarist clutched 2D's arm to gain his attention. She should have grown accustomed to his sudden dramatic mood swings; they had become the norm by now.

"Yew need ta go, it's not safe." His voice wobbled slightly as he was unsure of his own motives let alone the motives of the cyborg. Noodle followed his eye line and focused on the same empty space which the singer seemed to be fixated on, she lightly rubbed his arm as a meagre act of compassion as she attempted to understand him. She reached up and lightly whispered in his ear.

"What do you see?"

"Her, she's here." The words rolled off his tongue, he barely noticed himself saying them. However the cyborg's eyes widened in horror at his confession. She sent him a deep scowl and began to shout.

"Don't you tell her, don't you dare! I control you, you hear me? I own you! I'd advise you to keep quiet, you understand!" The calm nature of her voice had vanished, replaced by an underline tone of panic. She went on, attempting to sound as menacing as possible.

"Tell her and I'll kill her!" The replica's voice strained as she panicked. For the first time, the singer's hallucination seemed to be loosing its grasp on its dominance. The voice was loosing control over him. It hadn't ever occurred to him before, maybe he didn't have to fight it alone. The cybrog frantically sifted from her position and lunged for Noodle, attempting to reinforce her empty threat.

"Who do you see?" Noodle asked in confusion. Her eyes darted around the large bedroom, there was nobody else there.

The singer opened his mouth, preparing to speak. His actions interrupted by one last plea from the cyborg.

"Don't do it!" She screamed. Her synthetic eyes were burning holes through him, the oil rapidly oozing from the wound on her head.

"The cyborg, I can still see her."

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_A/N: Yeah! Progress…Woooo_

_Again, I'm so sorry for the delay. I'm gonna go and get my act together now and come back with some kick ass chapters soon!_

_Thanks for all my support, you guys are brilliant_

_Pretty pwease can I have more reviews? :D_

_xX_


	9. The Therapy Of Amity

_A/N: Hey everyone! 3_

_I do feel better…finally_

_Okay, humble pie time ;D_

_Thanks to: _**3R15UK0UM31****, ****411-Get-A-Life****, ****Candycraver****, ****MuffinaCa****, ****xxCassiexx****, ****Invader Blunt****, ****XxVampirethatdoesnotsparklexX****, ****Zomby****, ****Shade's Crusnik****, ParalyticDreamx, Jordan, ****Kata8849**_and _**Maura. **_Your reviews were really great and just the pick me up I needed. XD_

_Special thanks to: _**Psychic City****, Molly, ****Beatlemaniac1****, ****cherry-magpie-x****, ****Rin Koorbloh****, Alexis, ****The Hazel-Eyed Angel****, ****Nicky-Rockit****, ****your wrost nightmare**_and_**Ian St. George****. **_For your kind words and support during my personal crisis, it was really wonderful to read your reviews. My god! I sound like a Disney character…_

_Oh, __**Wordwryhta, **__Can I just carry you around in my pocket please, you always cheer me up when I need it, fank yew!_

_**SLOWBOAT TO HADES: A GORILLAZ CHALLENGE! **__Wordwryhta __has posted the rules and regulations so check it out! If you want in on the action PM her or me and we'll post a list of all those involved. (Don't worry you will be credited for your contribution :D)_

_So, chapter 9…I give you…a happy chapter! Yays! Well, not completely, but this is the most fluff worthy chapter I have written yet :D I've been focusing a lot on 2D's mental recovery in recent chapters and thought that maybe we should have some 2DxNoodle progress…here you go…_

_Disclaimer: Damon and Jamie own Gorillaz, however I own a tribute band called Gibbonz._

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9. The Therapy Of Amity 

She blinked. There wasn't much else she could do at that moment. Her jaw dropped slightly. The words passing through her mind as she attempted to comprehend the meaning behind them. Her mind working like the cogs of a clock, deciphering what the appropriate reaction should be. Yet after all of her figuring out, she just blinked.

Eventually Noodle was able to force an audible response to rise within her throat, though what intended to be words came out as a low pitched grunt. She held a hand up to her head and attempted to piece together a more appropriate response to the singer's confession.

"What do you mean?" The painfully obvious question came to the front of her mind immediately. She felt useless, but, in order to actually help him, she needed to understand him. But her question was met by silence as the blue haired man continued to stare at the empty space ahead of him. The concentration he held to the vacant area of carpet was immense, she wasn't even sure if he heard her. Noodle swallowed the lump in her throat and brushed a few strands of purple hair behind her ear before talking again.

"Does she talk to you?" The guitarist took a step forward and gently took a hold of the singer's hand. She attempted to reassure him by giving it a slight squeeze and rubbed her thumb over the top of his palm. Noodle moved closer to him, he still had his backed turned on her. In any other situation she would have become frustrated at his unwillingness to cooperate, but now she was beginning to understand. He had opened the door to her and was inviting her inside…he was getting better.

2D continued to stare blankly ahead, he couldn't understand how his hallucination had just vanished. As soon as he spoke the words to Noodle, she had evaporated into thin air. The pressure in his head that also seemed to grow whenever the cyborg was present, had also dulled. He had never had any control over his migraines or his hallucinations before, but now it was as if he had power over them. The tall singer continued to stare and even found himself in a slight daze which he was quickly brought out of once he felt the soft touch of Noodle's palm under his own. It was then that he remembered that the guitarist was actually still present, maybe she helped him fight off his demons.

Eventually he turned to face her, his features displaying a mixed expression of unease and relief. He was uncertain of how the young guitarist would handle his revelation. A constant nagging in the back of his mind told him that she would turn her back on him and walk away just as everyone else he cared about had. Another voice stated that it would be best if she did, he could only hurt her after all.

2D took a deep breath and offered her a small goofy grin, a mask of his former self; his smiles had not been genuine in a long time. Noodle saw through his façade and continued to press on with her _interrogation_. She shook her head slightly and continued in a small voice.

"How long?" She slightly arched one eyebrow and asked the question again to ensure that it was fully comprehended. "How long have you been hallucinating?"

"Erm" the vocalist stalled to buy himself time. He was reluctant to share any further details with her, afraid she would become more distressed than she already was. Eventually the honesty within him won over. He sighed, raising his hand to the back of his head and attempted to make light of the situation.

"Since yew killed 'er." He said in a light-hearted manor and offered her another false smile. He tried to ignore her sharp intake of breath and the expression of horror which plagued her features. She had lifted a petite hand to her mouth and froze in that expression, the brims of her eyes filling with bitter tears. After her silence, the singer continued to fill the air between them which was already growing cold. "So erm, about free weeks." His sentence trailed off into a whisper and silence consumed them once again.

2D let out a deep sigh at the uncomfortable atmosphere developing around them. He shifted his gaze to look over the young woman's shoulder and stare blankly at the ocean view which his large bedroom windows offered. He unconsciously placed his hands in his jean pockets and gave Noodle the opportunity to leave. He waited in his position for a few moments before swiftly looking back at her, wondering why she hadn't taken to opportunity to flee. But then again, this was Noodle, she would never run out on this sort of situation, she was far too stubborn.

The vocalist opened his mouth to prompt a reaction from the guitarist but was caught off guard when she quickly threw her slender arms around his middle and pushed her face into his chest. A damp spot soon began to grow on his white t-shirt as she continued to cry into him. Unknown to the singer, it was the young woman's guilt that was fuelling her sobs. How could she possibly not have picked up on the singer's behaviour? She should have known he was going through something so traumatic. So much for Zen bond, she wasn't even able to detect a slightest sign of his inner turmoil.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you had to go through this on your own!" She mumbled her strained apology into the cotton covering his torso. Her sentences were disjoined and interrupted by her choked cries. She managed to compose herself long enough to lift her face up to gain his eye contact once again before whimpering her condolences.

"Never again. Y-you'll never go through this on your own again." She vowed before returning to the sobbing mess she was. Noodle felt useless, like she had reverted back to a cowering child who needed to be consoled. She hated this feeling, hated the way it made her vulnerable, but at the same time loved the fact that only a certain Stuart Pot was able to bring it out of her. A wave of nostalgia flushed over her as the familiar feeling of being calmed down after a nightmare by 2D returned from her childhood. But now, it was his nightmare that she needed to rid him of. His imaginary monsters haunting his subconscious.

After she had clung to him for what seemed like hours, the young woman had calmed down enough to let go of the strained vocalist. She took a firm grip on his hand and used her free hand to wipe the mist from her eyes and her damp cheeks. She then took a deep breath and pulled the older man along behind her as she made her way over to sit on the end of his bed. 2D obediently followed her lead but remained silent. He couldn't quiet figure out Noodle's reaction, he wasn't sure whether he had caused her distress or not.

A mutual understanding arose within each of them at that particular moment. It suddenly became very clear to 2D what it was that he had to do. Talk. He had to talk to Noodle. It was so painfully obvious yet he had chosen to stay oblivious to it. The therapy of amity was the turning point in his progress. He almost told her everything, almost. There was still a barrier inside his head which prevented him from revealing his horrific vision of her death. He couldn't face bringing the image of Noodle's lifeless, blood soaked body back to the front of his thoughts, he knew that if he did, the image would burn right through his mind and haunt him for days, staining his every thought.

2D talked, Noodle listened.

She continued to listen, taking it all in. She would occasionally nod her head or give his hand a slight squeeze whenever his expression showed any sign of anguish. She was there for him, silently helping him come to terms with the misery he had endured, she was were she should have been from the very beginning. The vocalist talked about his past, the issues that had previously been repressed into the corners of his mind. It hurt him, deeply, to relive his most traumatic experiences; Paula, the drastic changes in his appearance, Murdoc's abuse, El Manana, everything.

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A few hours had passed after the singer's initial confession. Since then Noodle had never left his side. A lighter feeling had taken over from the previously dark weight of dread which had constantly plagued 2D's psyche over the passed couple of weeks. He knew that he was still a great distance from being declared sane, but, he had hope now. A new optimism which seemed to occupy his head. It felt…good, an alien feeling that he had recently forgotten.

2D took a moment to bask in the brilliance of Noodle, she had been his release. She had stayed with him and tolerated his insanity and she didn't even seem phased by anything. He admired at how mature she was about everything, and how she seemed so grounded, so in sync with everything and everyone around her. He was sent into a slight daze and didn't seem to notice her rising from her seating position and make her way over to his bedroom door.

Snapping back to reality came easily to the singer, he had gotten so far into his own thoughts lately that it became routine for him to drift off and float back at the most opportune moments. He quickly rose from his bed, ignoring the slight stinging in his chest as he realised that he had moved too suddenly. He swiftly caught up with the guitarist and walked her to his door in a lame attempt at decency and unnecessary formality.

Noodle strolled through the open doorway but quickly turned and leaned against the doorframe. She looked up at the singer and offered him a small smile before speaking.

"Just promise me that you'll tell Russel about this." She spoke in a soft, calming tone. "He can help you." Her smile widened as she fell silent and the singer nodded in agreement. She took a few moments to study his features before speaking again. "Thank you." She grinned.

"For wot?" 2D shrugged his shoulder's, confused by the young woman's humble behaviour.

"For letting me in." A distinct fluttering arose in her chest as he continued to stare intently at her. For a second she could have sworn that the familiarly between them had returned. His presence caused a warmth which she thought had been lost along with her childhood. However the innocence and strength of their bond had faded, there was something else there now, pulling her back to reality. It wasn't a negative feeling though; it was just unknown, unexplored.

The intensity of black, glossy eyes caused her to advert her glance downward as a mild blushed flushed her pale skin. 2D took the momentary lapse as an opportunity to express his gratitude by leaning down to place a light kiss on her forehead. A miscalculation of unfortunate timing caused Noodle to lift her head to address the vocalist again. A mild yet harsh collision occurred as their lips met for a fraction of a second as 2D's innocent gesture of affection soon turned back on itself. Before the accident could even be fully registered by either of them he quickly jolted his head back to create a safe distance between them.

The genuine apology came on impulse, he was used to apologising for his inappropriate behaviour recently and it had developed into something of a habit.

"I'm sor-"

"-Don't apologise." She quickly cut him off. Her voice was unusually low and gruff; a strange weakness within her was talking over, controlling her actions. Her main prerogative was to cure 2D from his illness, guide him out of the darkness. However there was this underline reasoning for her willingness to be so close to him. Every encounter fuelled her desire to explore their relationship. To test the boundaries and limits. Long ago he had made a promise to love her forever, but this was something else, a different kind of love. Maybe she was just falling into lust; after all she never had anything to compare it to.

So Noodle made the bold move to remain in the singer's doorway motionless peering up at him through jade orbs. However, her eye contact with him was no longer reminiscent of the innocent, smitten glances that they used to share. Instead her eyes carried the essence of seduction. She curled her lips into a small smile leaning her petite form further into the doorframe.

It took longer than necessary for the confused singer to piece the situation together and fully understand the guitarist's intentions. He had witness such behaviour from Noodle before. Once when he walked in on her in the bathroom; and again during their infamous encounter in the recording studio. However, her _seduction_ attempts had previously stirred the darkness within him and caused his behaviour to become out of control and unpredictable. It frustrated him to a great degree that the young woman seemed to act as both his antidote and his poison.

Yet this time as the troubled vocalist peered down at the guitarist, the darkness within him remained contained. There were no voices, no hallucinations and no pain building within his head. There was just a willingness controlling him now, accompanied by a curiosity and a deep routed desire. He had to admit that he was undeniably drawn to Noodle. Since her return, his fixation with her had grown immensely, yet previously he had ignored the longing for her which had caused his heart to ache. He had been frightened that he would loose control and end up causing her serious harm. But there was no barrier now, no reason to walk away.

Large hands gripped tightly to small shoulders as the young woman was suddenly pulled from her position in the doorway and pushed back into the adjacent wall. A small gasp of surprise escaped the guitarist's lips as green eyes once again met with black. Noodle initially felt threatened, she had witnessed before how 2D's behaviour could change in an instant and she had been at his mercy on occasions before and been lucky enough to get out unharmed. She knew too well that his overpowering frame would prove too much for her, even if she was designed to kill.

But the cold, intimidating stare, which seemed to consume the singer whenever he fell victim to a violent episode, was no longer occupying his dark eyes. Instead there was the familiar sadness within them which caused his whole expression to soften. Noodle knew that he was himself. He knew what he was doing, he was in control. The lanky vocalist continued to push forward so that the space between the two was almost non existent. Noodle's back came in full contact with the cold wall behind her. She could feel the contrast of the cool, hard structure on her back and the warm pressure of 2D pressed against her chest. She was sure that he was close enough to be able to feel her rapid heartbeat through the thin material of both of their clothing.

Noodle's breathing became heavy and laboured. She could hardly regain control of her limbs after 2D's actions. He had acted purely on impulse and now appeared to have no idea what his motives were. He slowly removed his hands from the guitarist's upper arms and placed them back at his sides. He took a delayed breath and began to shift away from her, preparing to apologise yet again for his breach of her personal space. He was stupid to even think for one second that he could let his libido take over. For God's sake, this was Noodle! He didn't deserve such a privilege as to lay his hands on her and mark her as his own. He was destined to fuck up everything in his life. He couldn't let Noodle be a part of that. The vocalist turned his head away from the young woman.

Small, delicate hands took him by surprise. The guitarist decided to take matters into her own hands as she registered the doubt laced in the singer's expression. She instantly knew that he was trapped in yet another train of thought, dishing out his daily dose of self loathing. When would he finally realise that Noodle made this decision on her own? When would he finally realise that she wanted this, she wanted him. If she would have ever doubted her decision, she would have walked away a long time ago.

When his lanky frame was finally turned back to her, he refused to gain her eye contact again. Instead his focus unintentionally skimmed over her body. He couldn't help but be baffled at how beautiful she had become, yet be so disgusted with himself for even thinking such things. His eye line slowly travelled up to her face. Her hands still lingered on his shoulders; her grip on him was soft yet persistent, just like Noodle.

The overwhelmed singer raised his eyebrows slightly at the young woman's drastic use of initiative. She granted him a minuscule nod of her head as a form of conformation before tightening her grip and pulling him down to her, closing the unwelcome distance between them.

Noodle used more force than was necessary and as a result, the first contact of their lips was rougher that expected. The young woman's eyes fluttered shut as she began to lose herself fulfilling a dormant urge which she hadn't known existed. It took only a few moments for the singer to respond, his experience soon took over. Skilful hands occupied themselves by trailing down her body before eventually resting at her hips. If this were any other girl, they would probably be exploring the bare skin beneath the cotton of her top, but this wasn't anybody.

The guitarist, aggravated by the distance their height caused, took it on herself to use the wall behind her and 2D's torso as leverage as she pushed her body up only to fall deeper into the kiss. She felt a low, surprised grunt escape the singer and vibrate along her lips. He responded by lifting her petite frame a few inches from the floor carrying half of her weight and letting the sturdy structure behind her support the rest. Noodle occupied her own hands by reaching up and gliding her fingers through blue hair. Still not satisfied with their closeness, the young woman aimed to close whatever little gap of vacant space rested between them.

But in one measly second, it was gone.

The warmth and alluring comfort which 2D's body had offered her was suddenly replaced by an unusually cold sting of air. Her feet had been hastily dropped back to the ground as she stumbled a little whilst getting used to supporting her own weight again. She felt light headed and slightly woozy, maybe from the rush of blood through her body. Her eyes remained closed; she was too frightened to open them. Maybe she had been dreaming, it seemed the most plausible explanation to come to her in her fragile state of mind. However, there was not the silence which she expected to be greeted by.

There was a distinct, heavy sound of…wheezing?

Green eyes shot open to quickly capture the form of 2D a few feet ahead of her. He was bent over, desperately clutching at his chest; his usually docile expression was now twisted in a haunting display of agony. He continued to wheeze and splutter whilst his breathing remained laboured and weak. The vocalist managed to lift his head up in Noodle's direction long enough to attempt to throw a reassuring grin in her direction to relieve the panicked expression on her face.

"No…strenuous…movements" He gasped, quoting Russel's advice.

"Oh" A quick flush of red rushed to Noodle's cheeks as she let out a small, embarrassed giggle whist moving away from the wall and offering her help to the struggling singer. She reached out with delicate hands and helped to steady him into a stable standing position. The simple sensation of touching him again caused her to become flustered. Noodle smiled sweetly up at him.

The hum and ping of the lift arriving on the floor was enough to cause the air to grown cold. As on impulse, the guitarist swiftly backed away from the singer and smoothed down her appearance in a panicked hurry and 2D followed suit. She instantly felt child-like again, as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

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It was only down to Murdoc Niccals who bombarded the atmosphere of the moment as he stampeded into the master bedroom with all the finesse of a gazelle on fire. His movements were unstable and disjoined. He also carried the strong essence of stale liquor along with him. Thankfully he had managed to partly dress himself since his midday siesta on the coastline. Though, in true Murdoc fashion, he had conveniently forgotten to put on a shirt. The Satanist was preparing to launch as slurring attack of profanity onto the singer before his mismatched eyes fell upon Noodle. He blinked at her, his mouth already open, yet nothing audible escaping from it.

"Alright love? Why yer so red on yer…face?" He drunkenly slurred in the young woman's direction before belching out a disgusting odour reminiscent of vomit.

"Pardon my rudeness." He continued in an aristocratic impersonation. The bassist then turned his attention to 2D and spoke again in his mock voice. "Lady Blue, one was wondering if one would tell one the whereabouts of one's rum."

"Erm…"The baffled singer blinked at him, unsure of an appropriate response.

"Where's me stash yer git? I left it in 'ere!" Murdoc's mock formality instantly disappeared to reveal the angered older man drunkenly slurring and pointing a green finger in the vocalist's direction.

"Muds! I told ya not ta come up here!" Russel's deep voice echoed from just outside the bedroom door as his large frame became visible to the rest of the band. He continued to scold the bassist whilst catching his breath. "'D needs ta rest, yo shouldn't be-" He abruptly stopped as his white eyes caught sight of the young Japanese guitarist. "Baby-girl?"

Noodle offered a timid smile whilst silently hoping that the blush on her cheeks had subsided. She nonchalantly tilted her head to one side and continued to smile at the drummer. "Russel-sama?" She questioned in the same tone which he had addressed her.

"What chew doin here Noodle-girl?" Russel questioned with both curiosity and suspicion.

"What are _you _doing here Russel-sama?" Noodle innocently asked, hoping her playful mannerisms would advert Russel's focus and suspicion elsewhere. She slowly turned her head back in 2D's direction. He was staring blankly ahead, his facial expression had once again returned to the docile, vacant norm as he silently began to piece together the surreal events of the day in his head.

Russel cleared his throat to gain Noodle's attention before addressing her. "Actually, I came here to see 'D." The vocalist appeared to return to reality and gave the drummer a questioning glance. "I need ta talk to him." The drummer recited in an unintentionally intimidating fashion.

"Good Russ, cause I need ta 'ave a word wiv yew." 2D offered the percussionist a toothless, carefree grin. He remembered his promise to Noodle earlier, to reveal to Russel the true extent of his illness and tell him about the hallucinations. The young woman smiled to herself.

Noodle then turned to glance at Murdoc, who was glaring back and forth between the guitarist and singer adopting a sleuth-like mindset. She finally caught the bassist's mismatched glare and nodded her head in the direction of the doorway. Russel's statement was clearly an invitation for the both of them to leave. The Satanist shrugged as he made an unstable route to the doorway, staggering due to the intolerable level of alcohol currently running through his system.

"I'll be back for me booze." He slurred before disappearing through the doorway. Noodle focused her attention on the floor as she hastily scampered towards the hallway. As she reached the doorframe she halted and skimmed her eyes up to catch 2D's line of vision. A strange epiphany-like feeling washed over her as she turned to him.

She had been wrong in her actions that day. 2D, her best friend, was not well and she had taken advantage of him and his vulnerable state. Noodle was supposed to act as his strength, his support, yet she had succumbed to her own selfish weakness and acted out of order. She could never slip up like that again, never. All she seemed to be doing lately was exacerbating his problems, causing him more strain where it wasn't needed. Noodle had to be strong, she had to stop herself.

As she offered him one last smile before she left, her lips curled into the appropriate action, yet her eyes remained hollow. She held her contained sadness in them as she gazed longingly at someone she could never have.

"I saw that." Murdoc mumbled in a pessimistic yet all-knowing manor as he brushed passed her shoulder and continued to stride towards the secure metal doors of the lift.

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_A/N: Why can't I ever end a chapter on a positive note? Gah!_

_Anyways, i gave you some 2DxNoodle as promised...so..._

_Can i have some more lovely reviews please? :D _

_xX  
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